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slam dunk
1noun
- 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.
slam-dunk
2[ slam-duhngk ]
verb (used with object)
- Basketball. to dunk (the ball) with great force.
slam dunk
noun
- 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
verb
- basketball to jump up and force (a ball) through a basket
Other 51Թ Forms
- slam dunker noun
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of slam dunk1
Idioms and Phrases
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.Example Sentences
There were the usual slam dunk, three-point shooting and other skills contests, adding to the carnival show.
With that in mind, here are slam dunk candidates for extensions to be negotiating during spring training.
It was, as Sielski writes, “an early version of the slam dunk.”
Many feel it’s because Howard took over O’Neal’s Superman moniker early in his career, donning a cape and sporting the superhero’s logo while competing in — and winning — the NBA’s slam dunk contest in 2008.
Lindsey Graham, senator for South Carolina, called Bondi's selection a “grand slam, touchdown, hole in one, ace, hat trick, slam dunk, Olympic gold medal pick.”
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from 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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