buzzer-beater
noun
buzz·er-beat·er
plural buzzer-beaters
Definition of buzzer-beater
basketball
: a shot successfully made just before a buzzer or horn sounds to signal the end of a period
especially
: such a shot made to win a game just before the final buzzer or horn sounds
A few weeks later, he had his first buzzer-beater, a game-winning shot as time expired to beat the Knicks. — Sam Smith, Basketball Digest, January 1994 Washington's Loree Payne had the buzzer-beater, taking an inbound pass with 0.7 seconds left and sinking a 15-footer as the horn blared to give Washington a 67–65 victory over Old Dominion at Gainesville, Fla. — New York Times, 18 Mar. 2001