drop shot

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noun

(in tennis, badminton, etc.) a ball or shuttlecock so softly hit that it falls to the playing surface just after clearing the net.

(in squash, handball, etc.) a ball so softly hit that it falls suddenly to the ground just after striking the front wall.

shot made in a shot tower.

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Origin of drop shot

First recorded in 1630–40

Words nearby drop shot

drop scone, drop seat, drop-ship, drop shipment, drop shipper, drop shot, dropsical, drop siding, dropsley, dropsonde, dropsy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use drop shot in a sentence

Medvedev also mixed in clever drop shots, that sent Djokovic racing to hit balls long or into the net, with his power plays.
Novak Djokovic Fell Short of a Grand Slam. All That Winning Could Be Too Much to Ask|Sean Gregory|September 13, 2021|Time
The al Qaeda-linked gunmen shot back, but only managed to injure one officer before they were taken out.
France Kills Charlie Hebdo Murderers|Nico Hines|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The cartoonist, better known as Charb, was shot dead Wednesday.
France Kills Charlie Hebdo Murderers|Nico Hines|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The gunman hardly broke stride as he nonetheless shot Merabet in the head, killing him.
The Muslim Cop Killed by Terrorists|Michael Daly|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST

A policewoman was shot dead this morning while law enforcement searched for the Charlie Lebdo killers.
France Mourns—and Hunts|Nico Hines, Christopher Dickey|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“I heard them say, ‘He was shot twice,’” the father, Joseph Dossi, remembers.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown|Michael Daly|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Before he could finish the sentence the Hole-keeper said snappishly, "Well, drop out again—quick!"
Davy and The Goblin|Charles E. Carryl
There was no fighting; a rifle shot now and then from the crests where we saw our fellows clearly.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
A was an Archer, who shot at a frog; B was a Butcher, and had a great dog.
Boys and Girls Bookshelf; a Practical Plan of Character Building, Volume I (of 17)|Various
Dockier, a prominent leader of the Levelers, in the times of the English commonwealth, was shot by order of the government.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
There was not a moment to lose, for one well-directed shot might exterminate half of us.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various

British Dictionary definitions for drop shot

drop shot

noun

tennis a softly-played return that drops abruptly after clearing the net, intended to give an opponent no chance of reaching the ball and usually achieved by imparting backspin
squash a similar shot that stops abruptly after hitting the front wall of the court

a type of shot made by permitting molten metal to percolate through a sieve and then dropping it into a tank of water

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