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bank shot

American  

noun

  1. Basketball. a shot into the basket, made by rebounding the ball off the backboard.

  2. Billiards, Pool. a shot in which the cue ball or object ball is banked.

Etymology

Origin of bank shot

First recorded in 1935–40

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.

Now rates are coming down, and Caterpillar has even turned into something of an AI bank shot.

From Barron's • Feb. 12, 2026

Manchester toddler Jude Owens successfully executed a pool bank shot at two years and 302 days old on 12 October 2025.

From BBC • Jan. 28, 2026

Knox made a bank shot for the first field goal after Etiwanda missed five shots.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2024

Emanuel Miller scored 29 points and his desperation 3-point, running bank shot at the buzzer carried TCU past Georgetown 84-83 in a thriller on Saturday in a Big East/Big 12 Battle contest.

From Washington Times • Dec. 2, 2023

Out from the bank shot a dark shape.

From The Guns of Europe by Altsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander)

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.