carom

or car·rom

[ kar-uh m ]

/ ˈkær əm /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR carom ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Billiards, Pool. a shot in which the cue ball hits two balls in succession.

any strike and rebound, as a ball striking a wall and glancing off.

verb (used without object)

to make a carom.

to strike and rebound.

Nearby words

Origin of carom

1770–80; by false analysis of carambole (taken as carom ball) < French < Spanish carambola, special use of fruit name; see carambola

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for carom

Max stopped in the act of trying for a carom, and stared at his sister.
The Wharf by the Docks|Florence Warden
A festive grasshopper jumps up into my face, and makes a carom on the web.
Pastoral Days|William Hamilton Gibson
The pig now lay still, and satisfied that he had killed it, he tried to repeat the carom, but failed.
"Where Angels Fear to Tread" and Other Stories of the Sea|Morgan Robertson
Monty thrust a franc in her hand and turned quickly from her to carom against a tall well-dressed man who was passing.
Under Cover|Roi Cooper Megrue

When a player is in hand on a carom table, and the other balls are within the “string,” he may play directly upon either.
Every Boy's Book: A Complete Encyclopdia of Sports and Amusements|Various

British Dictionary definitions for carom

carom

/ (ˈkærəm) /

noun

billiards, US and Canadian

a shot in which the cue ball is caused to contact one object ball after another
the points scored by this

Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): cannon

Word Origin for carom

C18: from earlier carambole (taken as carom ball), from Spanish carambola

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

Word Origin and History for carom

carom

1779, earlier carambole (1775), from French carambole "the red ball in billiards," from Spanish carombola "the red ball in billiards," perhaps originally "fruit of the tropical Asian carambola tree," which is round and orange and supposed to resemble a red billiard ball; from Marathi (southern Indian) karambal. Originally a type of stroke involving the red ball:

If the Striker hits the Red and his Adversary's Ball with his own Ball he played with, he wins two Points; which Stroke is called a Carambole, or for Shortness, a Carrom. ["Hoyle's Games Improved," London, 1779]

carom

1860, from carom (n.). Related: Caromed; caroming.

carom

or car·rom

noun

verb (used without object)

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of carom

Examples from the Web for carom

carom

noun

Word Origin for carom

carom

carom