slam dunk

¹ American  

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.

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slam-dunk ² American  

[slam-duhngk] / ˈslæmˌdʌŋk /

verb (used with object)

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

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slam dunk British  

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

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verb

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

slam dunk Idioms  

1. 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.

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Other Word Forms

• slam dunker noun

Etymology

Origin of slam dunk

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

Fox’s legal theory is not frivolous, but it is far from a slam dunk.

From Slate • Mar. 11, 2026

Fans might look upon the Tagovailoa situation as a cautionary tale of handing out a big contract to a player who was no slam dunk.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 9, 2026

The NBA's ploy to inject intensity into this weekend's All-Star Game with a new US-versus-the-world format has divided basketball's biggest superstars before a single slam dunk has been scored.

From Barron's • Feb. 14, 2026

At the start of the weekend, that looked like a slam dunk.

From BBC • Sep. 20, 2025

When your favorite player got a slam dunk, he looked like he was going to cry, even when I tried to give him a high five.

From "P.S. I Miss You" by Jen Petro-Roy