# shoot blanks

> English word · Verb

## Definitions
1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see shoot, blanks.
2. To be sterile.

## Etymology
Likening the ejaculation of semen to bullets from a gun, as in ejaculating but no semen comes out; see blank (“cartridge that simulates gunfire”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/shoot-blanks