forehand

noun fore·hand \ ˈfȯr-ˌhand \

|Updated on: 12 Jun 2018

Examples: forehand in a Sentence

Definition of forehand

1 archaic : superior position : advantage

2 : the part of a horse that is before the rider

3 : a forehand stroke (as in tennis or racquets); also : the side on which such strokes are made

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Examples of forehand in a Sentence

She hit a forehand across the court.

Recent Examples of forehand from the Web

Sloane Stephens plays a forehand during a match against Daria Kasatkina.

— tom perrotta, WSJ, "At the French Open, a Relaxed Sloane Stephens Is Playing Her Best," 6 June 2018
Ostapenko chased down a drop shot and punched it back, but Stephens stretched near the baseline to hit a forehand volley cross-court for a winner.

— Sun-Sentinel.com, "South Floridian Sloane Stephens wins final women's title on Key Biscayne," 31 Mar. 2018
The senior has a big serve, a big forehand, a quality return game along with quick reflexes, Leighton said.

— rich mayor, chicagotribune.com, "Boys tennis notes: Oleksyi Vyshyvanyuk finds doubles success at Lake Forest," 25 May 2018
One photo featured a close-up shot of my Mom hitting a forehand, her ever-reliable best shot.

— ryan rodenberg, SI.com, "Grandma's Trophies, Indirect Wins Over Federer and Other Tennis Memories Upon My Mom's Passing," 27 Apr. 2018
The 16-time Grand Slam champion held for 5-4 and then Dimitrov cracked, serving consecutive double faults and hitting a wild forehand long to trail 15-40.

— jerome pugmire, The Seattle Times, "Nadal beats Dimitrov, 1 win from record 31st Masters title," 21 Apr. 2018
My serve was popping and my forehand and backhand was solid.

— mark brown, azcentral, "Tucson Pusch Ridge boys, girls tennis collect four state titles," 28 Apr. 2018
But Klizan soon broke serve in the deciding set and, when Djokovic dumped a routine forehand into the net, the Slovakian secured his first ever victory over the Serb.

— matias grez, CNN, "Novak Djokovic suffers shock defeat to world No. 140," 25 Apr. 2018
That made it 5-1, and on championship point, moments later, Ostapenko sent a forehand wide.

— the associated press, New York Times, "Sloane Stephens Beats Jelena Ostapenko in Miami Open Final," 31 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'forehand.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Illustration of forehand

First Known Use of forehand

1557

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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forehand

adjective

Definition of forehand

1 obsolete : done or given in advance : prior

2 : made with the palm of the hand turned in the direction in which the hand is moving

a forehand tennis stroke

First Known Use of forehand

1599

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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forehand

adverb

Definition of forehand

: with a forehand stroke

First Known Use of forehand

1925

in the meaning defined above

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FOREHAND Defined for English Language Learners

forehand

noun

Definition of forehand for English Language Learners

sports : a way of hitting a ball in tennis and similar games in which the palm of the hand holding the racket is turned in the direction of the ball