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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. A collision followed by a rebound.
  2. n. A shot in billiards in which the cue ball successively strikes two other balls. Also called billiard.
  3. n. A similar shot in a related game, such as pool.
  4. v. To collide and rebound; glance: The car caromed off the guardrail into the ditch.
  5. v. To make a carom, as in billiards.
  6. v. To cause to carom.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. In billiards, the hitting of two or three balls in succession by the cue-ball from one stroke of the cue: in Great Britain sometimes called cannon. Also spelled carrom.
  2. In billiards, to make a carom (which see).
  3. To strike or collide against a thing and then rebound or glance off again; cannon: usually with on, and common in racing slang: as, Eclipse caromed on High-flyer and injured his chance of winning.
  4. Also spelled carrom.

Wiktionary

  1. n. A shot in which the ball struck with the cue comes in contact with two or more balls on the table; a hitting of two or more balls with the player's ball; in England it is called cannon.
  2. n. An Indian game played on a board measuring one meter by one meter square. Players take turns flicking checker-like pieces into one of four goals on the corners of the table. This billiard-like game is played entirely with the fingers, and usually while sitting on the floor.
  3. v. To make a carom.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. A shot in which the ball struck with the cue comes in contact with two or more balls on the table; a hitting of two or more balls with the player's ball. In England it is called cannon.
  2. v. To make a carom.

WordNet 3.0

  1. v. rebound after hitting
  2. n. a glancing rebound
  3. v. make a carom
  4. n. a shot in billiards in which the cue ball contacts one object ball and then the other

Etymologies

  1. Short for carambole, a stroke at billiards, from French, a billiard ball, from Spanish carambola, a stroke at billiards, perhaps from Portuguese, carambola; see carambola.

Examples

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Comments

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  • chained_bear "'How many people are in here, do you think?'

    'Sixty-eight, last time I counted.... They come in and out, though, so I canna be quite sure. And I didna count the weans,' he added, moving slightly to avoid collision as a trio of small boys caromed through the crowd and shot past us, giggling."
    —Diana Gabaldon, The Fiery Cross (NY: Bantam Dell, 2001), 545 Jan 20, 2010

  • mariacristina n. a collision followed by a rebound. "pinballs caroming off cushions." TC Boyle, Drop City Mar 3, 2008

‘carom’ has been looked up 1891 times, loved by 10 people, added to 37 lists, commented on 2 times, and has a Scrabble score of 9.