drop shot
Americannoun
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(in tennis, badminton, etc.) a ball or shuttlecock so softly hit that it falls to the playing surface just after clearing the net.
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(in squash, handball, etc.) a ball so softly hit that it falls suddenly to the ground just after striking the front wall.
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shot made in a shot tower.
noun
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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
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squash a similar shot that stops abruptly after hitting the front wall of the court
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a type of shot made by permitting molten metal to percolate through a sieve and then dropping it into a tank of water
Etymology
Origin of drop shot
First recorded in 1630–40
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.
"He's brought in the drop shot a little bit, which is good to get the opponents moving forward to backwards, not just side to side."
From BBC • Dec. 17, 2025
The Madrid crowd were firmly behind Musetti and chanted his name in the fifth game after a perfectly placed drop shot left Draper scrambling.
From BBC • May 2, 2025
The pressure eventually told, with a drop shot giving Sabalenka the break and a 3-2 lead and she dominated the remainder of the set to force the decider.
From BBC • Jan. 5, 2025
Twice in the first set, Nadal missed drop shot attempts to hand Hurkacz breaks of his serve.
From Seattle Times • May 11, 2024
On the next point, Reggie was slow to respond to a drop shot that barely crossed the net, giving Glenn another score.
From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
