slam-dunk

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.

SLAM DUNK Definition & Meaning - Dictionary.com


slam dunk1

noun (2)

slam-dunk2

verb (used with object) (1)

American
British
slam dunk
1

noun
Basketball. a particularly forceful, often dramatic dunk shot.
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 ]


Phonetic (Standard)
IPA
verb (used with object)
Basketball. to dunk (the ball) with great force.


First recorded in 1975–80

Discover More
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.

Example Sentences:

GOOD Meat has never been able to test the capacity of cell proliferation to that extent, but Tetrick is convinced that once he has the necessary bioreactors, it will be a slam dunk.

From Time
Its effectiveness as invasive species control may be debatable, but its value as pure gonzo fun looks to be a slam dunk.

From Popular-Science
“There’s no slam dunk because ultimately some court of appeal will have to decide whether in fact Hughes was subject to 1090,” Cabrera said.

From Voice of San Diego
Even then, the drug won’t be a slam dunk for everyone with Alzheimer’s.

From Time
With Macy's level of experience—with kernel coding and network stacks in particular—the project looked like a slam dunk.

From Ars Technica
That may be, but experts say that “similarities” to other attacks is hardly a slam dunk.

From The Daily Beast
And the information that the FBI has presented so far strikes many experts as hardly a slam dunk against Pyongyang.

From The Daily Beast
Apparently, 2016 is not shaping up as a Democratic slam dunk.

From The Daily Beast
Even as a Democrat, I am rooting for the GOP to seize this slam-dunk opportunity.

From The Daily Beast
For Best Actor in a Musical, Neil Patrick Harris seems like a slam dunk for Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

From The Daily Beast
He always looks like he's about to slam-dunk your ass, and he's really into raising his voice for dramatic effect.

From Project Gutenberg
Kurt said that the anarchist bookstore would be a slam dunk, but it turned out to be the hardest sell of all.

From Project Gutenberg