carom

or car·rom

[kar-uh m]

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.

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

Related Words for carom

glance, skim, ricochet, strike, bump, rebound, graze

Examples from the Web for carom

Historical Examples of carom

He learned to play French carom and pyramid pool,—every thing in fact.
A Russian Proprietor
Lyof N. Tolstoi
Max stopped in the act of trying for a carom, and stared at his sister.
The Wharf by the Docks
Florence Warden
"Yes, a good many years," answered Stark, as he made a carom.
Driven From Home
Horatio Alger
Finally, once I made a great fluke—a carom, followed by most of the balls falling into the pockets.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete
Albert Bigelow Paine
Carom, kar′om, n. an abbreviation for Carambole, the same as Cannon in billiards.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D)
Various

British Dictionary definitions for carom

carom

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

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]

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