Hit or struck lightly, especially in sports like tennis or pickleball where a soft shot is made near the net.
From dink, a verb meaning to strike lightly or hit a soft shot, possibly imitating the sound; became common in tennis terminology in the 20th century.
In pickleball, the dink shot has become the most important strategy in modern play—pros spend hours perfecting the soft touch at the net, making 'dinking' arguably more crucial than power shots. This mirrors how tennis evolved from power-focused play to a more technical, finesse-based game.
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