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

The Irish scored seven runs in the second inning – highlighted by a grand slam from senior outfielder Kayla Bartol, her second homer in as many games – to claim a 7-1 advantage over unseeded Stillwater. —Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 5 June 2024

His next pitch was a curve that hung right at the letters, and Crawford lifted it just over the right field fence, for a grand slam. —Jeff Fletcher, Orange County Register, 1 June 2024

May 29, 2024 Starting with Palacios’ clutch grand slam against Arizona on April 28, UCLA (43-10) has won 14 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the country. —Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2024

Last year, the Royals didn’t win their 30th game until July 28 — which happened to be Bobby Witt Jr.’s iconic walk-off grand slam. —Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 21 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1800, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Kids Definition

grand slam

noun

: a home run hit with three runners on base