jump shot

American  

noun

Basketball.

1. a shot with one or both hands in which a player leaps into the air and shoots the ball at the basket at the moment of reaching the highest point of the leap.

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jump shot British  

noun

1. basketball a shot at the basket made by a player releasing the ball at the highest point of a leap

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Etymology

Origin of jump shot

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

He’s revived a weapon driven to extinction by the analytical addiction to the 3-pointer: the midrange jump shot.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026

"These results, they come from hard work in the dark, a lot of sleepless nights trying to figure out how to master my craft and be more consistent with my jump shot."

From Barron's • Nov. 26, 2025

As a kid, he had a pretty good jump shot, and by 2017 was playing as a guard for Macalester College’s Division III basketball team in St. Paul.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 22, 2025

He pivoted around and through a double team and faded away deep in the shot clock, ready to sink Memphis’ hopes with his signature jump shot.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 1, 2025

That’s my role, and other teams have doubled Terrell before, but for some reason my jump shot seems a little more off this year than in years past.

From "Boy21" by Matthew Quick