stop a bullet

English

Verb

stop a bullet (third-person singular simple present stops a bullet, present participle stopping a bullet, simple past and past participle stopped a bullet)

1. (idiomatic) To be shot; to receive a bullet in one's body.
   • 2015, Annie Burrows, A Mistress For Major Bartlett:

     'Stopped a bullet, but Miss Mary, she reckons as how she knows someone what can patch him up.'

   • 2024, Lane Metcalf, To Set a Prisoner Free:

     He stopped a bullet with the back of his head after it had gone through a stop sign. You could say he's lucky to be alive — the bullet expended most of its energy before it hit him.

   • Frank G. Slaughter, In a Dark Garden

     I regret to add that he was but ill repaid for his loyalty — for he stopped a bullet when they fired the house and we were forced to run for our lives.