grand slam

noun

1

baseball : a home run hit with the bases loaded

… the Dodgers' Eric Karros has a shot to become the first player in history to get 200 career home runs without a grand slam.

—Tim Kurkjian

2

a usually Grand Slam

(1)

: the winning of all four of the most significant championships in a particular sport in the same year

—used especially in tennis and golf

… with … Nadal spoiling Federer's bid for the Grand Slam by beating him on the clay at the French Open.

—Sean Gregory

"And so to St. Andrews to begin the quest for the Grand Slam," he [Bobby Jones] wrote.

—Dave Anderson

also : the winning of all four such championships during the course of one's career

Woods … could become the youngest player to win the career Grand Slam, at age 24.

—Clifton Brown

(2)

: one of the championships that comprise a Grand Slam : major entry 2 sense 6

"Last year she was a little hungrier," says Davenport's coach, Robert Van't Hof. "She hadn't won a Grand Slam yet."

—Diane K. Shah

—often used before another noun

a Grand Slam event/tournament

Graf was 17 when she won the first of her 21 Grand Slam titles here in 1987 …

—Robin Finn

b

: a clean sweep or total success

3

: the winning of all the tricks in one hand of a card game (such as bridge)

Once, looking over Grace's shoulder, I saw her make a grand slam in clubs when the highest trump card in her hand was the nine.

—William Maxwell

Examples of grand slam in a Sentence

He made a grand slam.

Recent Examples on the Web

Lonnie’s dream is to get back on the PGA tour and claim that elusive grand slam. — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 16 July 2026

The big moment came June 10, when his walk-off grand slam capped an eight-run comeback against the Washington Nationals. — Michael Nowels, Mercury News, 15 July 2026

His first career grand slam came off Aaron Ashby (12-2), turning a 6-3 deficit into a 7-6 lead and keeping the Brewers from their 60th win of the season with their second loss in seven games. — ABC News, 11 July 2026

The Braves lost 12-4 at Pittsburgh Tuesday night and first baseman Ryan O’Hearn accounted for 10 RBIs with a grand slam and a pair of three-run homers, which also sounds like the makings of a pretty good poker hand. — Ken Sugiura, AJC.com, 8 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1800, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Rhymes for grand slam

• abram
• ashram
• buckram
• doorjamb
• exam
• goddam
• grandam
• priam
• program
• programme
• wolfram
• abraham

Kids Definition

grand slam

noun

: a home run hit with three runners on base