carom
Americannoun
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Billiards, Pool. a shot in which the cue ball hits two balls in succession.
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any strike and rebound, as a ball striking a wall and glancing off.
verb (used without object)
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to make a carom.
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to strike and rebound.
noun
Etymology
Origin of carom
1770–80; by false analysis of carambole (taken as carom ball ) < French < Spanish carambola, special use of fruit name; see carambola
Explanation
When something bounces against or ricochets off a surface, that's called a carom. You might enjoy watching the bumps and caroms of the bumper cars at the fair more than actually driving one. Carom is a verb, too, so you might describe a pinball machine this way: "When you push the buttons, flippers hit the little silver ball, which caroms around the machine, bouncing off the bumpers and kickers." The original meaning of this word is also one that's still in use — it's a game similar to pool or billiards, played on a table with no pockets. It comes from the Spanish word carombola, "the red ball in billiards."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Carom billiards is played on a pocketless table with only three balls.
From Time Magazine Archive
Last year, the idea that billiards lacked social prestige gave rise to institutions like Manhattan's Carom Club for socialite and celebrated billiardists.
From Time Magazine Archive
"Carom" cried Duhamel, in a frenzy of apprehension.
From The Trampling of the Lilies by Sabatini, Rafael
Carom, kar′om, n. an abbreviation for Carambole, the same as Cannon in billiards.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various
There is also Three-Cushion Carom, which is explained by its title, and the Bank-Shot game, in which the cue-ball must touch a cushion before it strikes either ball.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7 "Bible" to "Bisectrix" by Various
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.
