fadeaway

1 of 2

noun

fade·​away ˈfād-ə-ˌwā 

plural fadeaways

1

a

: screwball sense 1

b

: a slide in which a base runner throws their body sideways to avoid the tag

c

basketball : a shot made or attempted while moving away from the basket

Rick Fox sank a 12-foot fadeaway with 1:10 left for a 93-91 Lakers lead …

—The New York Times

2

: an act or instance of fading away

fadeaway

2 of 2

adjective

basketball

: made or attempted while moving away from the basket

a fadeaway jump shot

Examples of fadeaway in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Rookie teammate Knueppel stands at 6-foot-6 and 215 pounds, and perhaps in an earlier era, would have been asked to fire mid-post fadeaways over his right shoulder. —Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 31 Dec. 2025

Among her impressive moves, Sienna followed an offensive rebound with a step-back fadeaway jumper, drove the baseline for a layup and also took a pass over the top of the defense for a layup. —Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2025

Adjective

Henry came off the bench and hit his first shot of the game, a fadeaway jumper from the baseline, to extend the lead to 15-5. —Dan Arritt, Oc Register, 5 Dec. 2025

Down four with 15 seconds left, the Valkyries tied the game on two fadeaway baskets by French rookie Janelle Salaün. —Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 15 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1909, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

1932, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for fadeaway

• andromache
• bioassay
• cabriolet
• cercariae
• communique
• companionway
• compositae
• decussate
• examinee
• fabaceae
• glyphosate
• microarray