caroms

Caroms refer to two related concepts in billiards and physics.

In billiards and cue sports, a carom (carom shot) is a shot in which the cue ball hits two object balls in a single stroke. In carom billiards, the table has no pockets and the goal is to drive the cue ball so that it contacts both object balls on the same shot. The most common discipline is three-ball carom, played with one cue ball and two object balls of contrasting colors; players score points for successful caroms, and formats vary by governing body. Some variants involve additional contacts with cushions, such as two- or three-cushion caroms, but the core objective remains contacting both object balls in one stroke.

In physics and related fields, a carom denotes a collision in which a moving body rebounds off another body, often changing direction. The term is used to describe ricochets and multi-body impacts in impact dynamics, ballistics, and computer simulations.

The term derives from the French carambole, and in English it is used for both billiards shots and rebound phenomena in physics.