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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.

See Examples For:

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

“The bank shot broke our back,” Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight said in 2006.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2024

It’s an electoral bank shot with a long tradition in politics.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 28, 2024

Between the rocks and the sand- bank shot up a tall, lonely shaft of granite with an evil history.

From The Battle of the Strong — Volume 1 A Romance of Two Kingdoms by Gilbert Parker

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