rainbow shot

noun

A high arcing shot into the basket.

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Meanings

nounrainbow shot (plural rainbow shots)

plural rainbow shots

  1. ball gamesA high arcing shot into the basket.

    Even after Spooner dropped in one of his patented rainbow shots from the left side and Schulz scored on another tip-in, Quincy still held a two-point lead with half a minute to go in the third quarter.

    2002, Scott Johnson, Julie Kistler, Once there were giants: how tiny Hebron won the Illinois state basketball championship and the hearts of fans forever, page 158

Origin

In reference to the arched shape of a rainbow.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

rainbow shot. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rainbow%20shot

MLA

“rainbow shot.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rainbow%20shot. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rainbow shot,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rainbow%20shot.

Source: rainbow shot on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.