fadeaway

1 of 2

noun

fade·​away ˈfād-ə-ˌwā 

plural fadeaways

1

a

: screwball sense 1

b

: a slide in which a base runner throws his or her body sideways to avoid the tag

c

basketball : a shot made or attempted while moving away from the basket

Rick Fox sank a 12-foot fadeaway with 1:10 left for a 93-91 Lakers lead …

—The New York Times

2

: an act or instance of fading away

fadeaway

2 of 2

adjective

basketball

: made or attempted while moving away from the basket

a fadeaway jump shot

Examples of fadeaway in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

His 30 points against the Hawks also pushed him past Michael Jordan for the most 30-point games in NBA history (563), with his 30th point poetically coming on a turnaround fadeaway. —Jovan Buha, The Athletic, 4 Jan. 2025

Advertisement Collins, in a 20-point effort, made a tougher-than-nails fadeaway shot to tie the score with four seconds left to force overtime. —Benjamin Royer, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2024

Adjective

The Lakers made a comeback attempt when Rui Hachimura assisted Christie on a 3-pointer to cut their deficit to eight and James converted a three-point play on a fadeaway jumper, knocking down the free throw to trim the margin to five. —Khobi Price, Orange County Register, 24 Dec. 2024

Instead he pump-faked, drove into traffic and threw up an off-balance missed fadeaway floater. —Anthony Slater, The Athletic, 22 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1909, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

1932, in the meaning defined above