carom

or car·rom

[ kar-uhm ]

/ ˈkær əm /

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See 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.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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. 2023

How to use carom in a sentence

The ping of the ball caroming off the right post cut through the vuvuzelas for an instant.
U.S. Falls to Ghana|Joshua Robinson|June 24, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Close in the fork he was protected on either side from the hammering blows of the caroming timber.
The Promise|James B. Hendryx
Rick followed through with a battering charge that sent a clerk caroming into a stack of copper jars.
The Egyptian Cat Mystery|Harold Leland Goodwin
Kenniston's shoulder hit the captain and sent him caroming into Murdock.
The World with a Thousand Moons|Edmond Hamilton

We simply fell over the cliff, plunging, caroming, and ricocheting down through the masses of vegetation.
In Africa|John T. McCutcheon
There are seldom any sidewalks, and when there are, they are not often wide enough to pass a man on without caroming on him.
The Innocents Abroad|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

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

carom

or car·rom

Origin of carom

Words related to carom

How to use carom in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for carom

Word Origin for carom