Meaning & use
a dunk in basketball
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
a shot in basketball where a player jumps high and pushes the ball down through the hoop with one or both hands.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a dunk' or 'dunks'. Often used with 'score' or 'make'.
Patterns
- score a dunk
- a dunk in basketball
- a powerful dunk
He scored a spectacular dunk in the final seconds.
The crowd cheered when she made a dunk in basketball practice.
A dunk in basketball is worth two points.
Word forms
| plural | dunks |
|---|
Common combinations
- score a dunk
- He scored a dunk that excited the fans.
- powerful dunk
- Her powerful dunk surprised everyone.
- slam dunk
- A slam dunk is a very strong dunk.
- dunk contest
- The player won the dunk contest.
Synonyms and how they differ
- slam dunk
- A stronger, more forceful dunk, often used in informal speech.
Word family
- dunk verb
- to push the ball down through the hoop.
Commonly confused: a dunk in basketball or dunk?
a dunk in basketball vs dunk
As a verb, 'dunk' can also mean to dip food into a drink, like dunking a cookie in milk.
Practice
In basketball, a player jumps and pushes the ball down through the hoop. What is this called?
Choose one answer.
A dunk is the action described. A pass is throwing to a teammate; a dribble is bouncing the ball; a rebound is grabbing the ball after a missed shot.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a dunk in basketball”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.