table tennis

American  

noun

1. a game resembling tennis, played on a table with small paddles and a hollow celluloid or plastic ball.

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table tennis British  

noun

1. a miniature form of tennis played on a table with small bats and a light hollow ball

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Etymology

Origin of table tennis

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Yarrow hopes that the Norway squad photo, which will sit next to a table tennis table at the side's Greensboro base in North Carolina, has the same impact.

From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026

He said the atmospheric conditions had led to "sizeable hail, akin in places to the size of table tennis balls."

From BBC • May 29, 2026

Sabbir reads manuals on the theory of navigation, and Islamic texts—or plays table tennis with his crew.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2026

Now a robot named Ace has achieved another milestone for AI and robotics by defeating expert-level humans at table tennis in Tokyo, according to a study published Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026

Did Iranians say Ping-Pong, or did they say table tennis?

From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram