perhaps = point-blank, n. adv.adj.

†(a) a blank discharge of firearms (obsolete); (b) a fire made to deceive an enemy, or as a night-signal.

colloquial. Shooting; the act of taking pot-shots. Cf. pot, v.4 5.

A shot fired at point-blank range; shooting or firing at point-blank range. Also figurative. Obsolete.

an act of firing a number of shots in rapid succession by a body of troops, typically from one end of a rank or ranks to the other; a rapid and…

Striking or beating with the fist, a tool, etc.; loud knocking or thumping, as of the heart, a piece of machinery, or the beat of a piece of…

The firing of bullets. Also attributive.

The firing of volleys of shots. Obsolete. rare.

Firing with shot (as opposed to blank cartridge).

discharge of musketry in order to defend or clear a street; an instance of this.

Military. The method of firing a projectile such that it is made to glance or skip along a surface with a rebound or series of rebounds. Now histo…

(a) a curtain, screen, etc., made of fire-resistant material, esp. one used in a theatre; (b) Military a concentration of rapid and continuous…

Of artillery or rifle fire: directed downwards from a higher level. Esp. in plunging fire, plunging shot. Cf. plunge, v. 3b.

gunfire on the rear of an enemy or fortification, spec. such that the angle between the line of the parapet or troops and the line of fire is greater…

The action of snipe, v. 1 2a.

Military. A ‘fire’ from artillery or musketry which sweeps a line of works or men from one end to the other. Also attributive in enfilade fire.

The firing of a number of shots in rapid succession; rapid gunfire. Also figurative.

firing by a body of men in line.

Military. Designating weapon fire concentrated on one point. Chiefly in concentric fire. Also in figurative contexts.

The action or an act of raking with gunfire or shot. Cf. enfilade, n. 2b.

That snipes, or shoots from cover. sniping fire, individual and irregular shooting from a concealed position.

= file-fire n.

Gunnery. Designating artillery fire (or, in later use, the firing of torpedoes or other missiles) in which the angle of elevation is such that the…

firing by files, now called independent firing (opposed to volley-firing).

simultaneous firing at the word of command by successive parties of soldiers; also figurative.

Military. Lines of fire from two or more positions crossing each other. Also figurative.

lighting of joy-fires; the firing of celebratory shots (cf. feu de joie, n. 2).

The practice of taking snapshots (see snapshot, n. 1 and 2).

The action of string, v.. in intransitive senses.

The action of pot-shoot, v. Also figurative.

gunfire aimed at a target which cannot be seen (see quot. 1918).

The action of sweep, v. Gunnery. (See quot. 1907.)

Shooting. An instance of rapid fire; a burst of rapid-fire shooting. Now rare.

Military. (In full curtain of fire, curtain fire.) A concentration of rapid and continuous artillery or machine-gun fire, etc., on a designated line…

Military. A round of missiles, etc., fired or discharged in succession or at short intervals, esp. any one of a number of such waves. Cf. ripple-f…

the discharge of missiles, etc., by ripple fire.

a mode of firing missiles, etc., in rapid succession or at intervals (cf. sense 7).