grand slam

American  

[grand slam] / ˈgrænd ˈslæm /

noun

• grand slams
  plural

1. Bridge. the winning of all thirteen tricks of a deal.

2. Baseball. Also grand-slammer. a home run with three runners on base.

3. Sports. the winning by a single player of several designated major championship contests in one season, as in golf or tennis.

4. any sweeping success or total victory.

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grand slam British  

noun

1. bridge the winning of 13 tricks by one player or side or the contract to do so

2. tennis golf

   1. the winning of all major competitions in a season, esp in tennis and golf

   2. one of the 4 major competitions in a season in tennis

3. (often capital) rugby Union the winning of all five games in the annual Six Nations Championship involving England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, and Italy Compare triple crown

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grand slam Idioms  

1. A sweeping success or total victory, as in This presentation gave us a grand slam—every buyer placed an order. This term originated in the early 1800s in the card game of whist (forerunner of contract bridge), where it refers to the taking of all thirteen tricks. It later was extended to bridge and various sports, where it has different meanings: in baseball, a home run hit with runners on all the bases, resulting in four runs for the team; in tennis, winning all four national championships in a single calendar year; in golf, winning all four major championships. In the 1990s the term was used for four related proposals presented on a ballot at once.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• grand slams
  plural

Etymology

Origin of grand slam

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

grand slam

A month later, he hit a grand slam that traveled 473 feet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

The tennis grass-court season zips by faster than a pro’s serve, occupying only a few weeks in June after the Roland Garros grand slam in Paris and culminating at Wimbledon’s Centre Court.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026

Grant cooked up a grand slam to make it 6-0 in the fourth inning.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026

Fans at Easton Stadium anticipated another grand slam, holding up their cell phones hoping to catch some magic.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026

During one game—he was nine or ten—the score was tied in the bottom of the eleventh and one of the Yankees hit a walk-off grand slam.

From "The Dead and the Gone" by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Related Words

• accomplishment
• achievement
• advance
• benefit
• boom
• fame
• gain
• happiness
• profit
• progress
• prosperity
• realization
• triumph
• victory
• win