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grand slam

American  
[grand slam] / ˈgrænd ˈslæm /

noun

  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.

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

"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
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.

Etymology

Origin of grand slam

First recorded in 1890–95

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.

Cameron Young, who was eight back of McIlroy to start the day, overtook the grand slam winner late in the day.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2026

After becoming just the sixth man to complete golf’s career grand slam, the 36-year-old from Northern Ireland is hoping he can spark another run of major titles—starting with a second green jacket.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

“I felt like the career grand slam was my destination, and I got there, and then I realized it wasn’t the destination.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

A year ago, McIlroy beat Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff to become the sixth man to complete a career grand slam, winning all four major championships.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 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

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.