Phrase guide

shoot 'em up

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A piece of media which depicts considerable gunplay.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Topics: broadcasting, film, literature, media, publishing, television, video-games

Examples

  • My wife won't watch this movie; it's a shoot ’em up.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A piece of media which depicts considerable gunplay.

A video game in which one plays as a character moving and shooting in an autoscrolling two-dimensional world, with emphasis on dodging bullets and predicting enemy movement patterns.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Topics: broadcasting, film, literature, media, publishing, television, video-games

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: shmup

Antonyms: none provided

Narrower terms: bullet hell, cute-'em-up

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.