slam dunk

See synonyms for slam dunk on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Basketball. a particularly forceful, often dramatic dunk shot.

  2. Slang. something regarded as certain to occur or be accomplished, typically something desirable that requires little further effort: The election is starting to look like a slam dunk for our side.

Origin of slam dunk

1
First recorded in 1975–80

Other words from slam dunk

  • slam dunker, noun

Other definitions for slam-dunk (2 of 2)

slam-dunk
[ slam-duhngk ]

verb (used with object)
  1. Basketball. to dunk (the ball) with great force.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for slam dunk

slam dunk

noun
  1. basketball a scoring shot in which a player jumps up and forces the ball down through the basket

  2. informal a task so easy that success in it is deemed a certainty

verbslam-dunk
  1. basketball to jump up and force (a ball) through a basket

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with slam dunk

slam dunk

A forceful, dramatic move, as in That indictment was a slam dunk if ever there was one. This expression is also often put as a verb, slam-dunk, meaning “make a forceful move against someone,” as in This is a great chance for us to slam-dunk the opposition. The idiom comes from basketball, where it refers to a dramatic shot in which the ball is thrust into the basket from above the rim. It was transferred to other activities from about 1980 on.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.