# What does ‘a shot in the arm’ mean?

To “a shot in the arm” means to a boost or encouragement. A 20th-century idiom from medical injections; not in Brewer's 1898.

## What it means

- A 20th-century idiom from medical injections; not in Brewer's 1898.

## Action steps

1. Used of anything that revives interest or morale.
2. Example: The new hire was a shot in the arm for the team.

## Sources

- [Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) — Internet Archive scan](https://archive.org/details/brewers-dictionary-of-phrase-and-fable)

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Published: 2026-07-18T04:16:34.895393+00:00
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