A Dink Is a Soft Shot That Wins the Point
A dink is a gently placed shot in racquet sports. The word also serves as an acronym for a type of household.
A dink is a softly placed shot that drops just over the net, used in tennis, volleyball, badminton and above all pickleball. The tactic beats power: a dink lands so short that an opponent standing deep cannot reach it, and in pickleball whole rallies are built from nothing but dinks exchanged at the net. The word is imitative of the small sound. Separately, DINK is an acronym from the 1980s for a couple with two incomes and no children.
- A soft placed shot. *A delicate dink.*
- To play such a shot. *He dinked it over.*
- Dual income, no kids. *A DINK household.*
- Pickleball — where it dominates. *Pickleball.*
- Imitative. *Of a small sound.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | dink | A dink. |
| Plural | dinks | Dinks. |
| Verb | dink | Dinking. |
| Acronym | DINK | A DINK couple. |
| Related | drop shot | A drop shot. |
- She dinked it just over the net.Sport.
- The rally was all dinks.Tactic.
- DINK means two incomes, no kids.Acronym.
Soft shots across sports
- Dink — a gentle placed shot, central to pickleball
- Drop shot — tennis, dying just over the net
- Lob — the opposite, floated high and deep
- Chip — golf and football, lifted softly and short
- All exploit position rather than power
Imitative, of a light tapping sound, recorded in sporting use from the twentieth century.
What is a dink in pickleball?
A soft shot dropped just over the net into the non-volley zone, forcing an opponent to reach forward and lift the ball.
What does DINK stand for?
Dual income, no kids. It describes a couple who both earn and have no children, and dates from the 1980s.