slam dunk

¹

noun

1. Basketball.,  a particularly forceful, often dramatic dunk shot.

2. Slang.,  something regarded as certain to occur or be accomplished, typically something desirable that requires little further effort.

   The election is starting to look like a slam dunk for our side.

slam-dunk

²

[slam-duhngk]

verb (used with object)

1. Basketball.,  to dunk (the ball) with great force.

slam dunk

noun

1. basketball a scoring shot in which a player jumps up and forces the ball down through the basket

2. informal,  a task so easy that success in it is deemed a certainty

verb

1. basketball to jump up and force (a ball) through a basket

Other Word Forms

• slam dunker noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of slam dunk¹

First recorded in 1975–80

Idioms and Phrases

A forceful, dramatic move, as in That indictment was a slam dunk if ever there was one. This expression is also often put as a verb, slam-dunk, meaning “make a forceful move against someone,” as in This is a great chance for us to slam-dunk the opposition. The idiom comes from basketball, where it refers to a dramatic shot in which the ball is thrust into the basket from above the rim. It was transferred to other activities from about 1980 on.