From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbe a long shotbe a long shotPROBABLY a) used to say that a plan is worth trying, even though you think it is unlikely to succeed It’s a long shot, but someone might recognise her from the photo and be able to tell us where she lives. b) American English if someone is a long shot, they are not likely to be chosen for a job or to win an election, competition etc Turner is a long shot to win next month’s mayoral election. → shot
Examples from the Corpus
be a long shot• It was a long shot, but he might have been calling from his usual hotel in Lagos.• It was a long shot, of course, but if she looked carefully she might find something.• It was a long shot, very long.• Well, actually, he wanted two things, but he knew the second was a long shot.• It does no harm to write to the nearest local residents and businesses, but generally this is a long shot.• This is a long shot, but I still want to try it.• We are long shots and we are approaching it that way. 