slam dunk
Basketball. a particularly forceful, often dramatic dunk shot.
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
1Other words from slam dunk
- slam dunker, noun
Other definitions for slam-dunk (2 of 2)
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
basketball a scoring shot in which a player jumps up and forces the ball down through the basket
informal a task so easy that success in it is deemed a certainty
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
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.
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