basketball

[bas-kit-bawl, bah-skit-]

noun

1. a game played by two teams of usually five players each on a rectangular court having a raised basket or goal at each end, points being scored by tossing the ball through the opponent's basket.

2. the round, inflated ball approximately 30 inches (76 centimeters) in circumference, used in this game.

basketball

/ ˈbɑːskɪtˌbɔːl /

noun

1. a game played by two opposing teams of five men (or six women) each, usually on an indoor court. Points are scored by throwing the ball through an elevated horizontal metal hoop

2. the inflated ball used in this game

Other Word Forms

• probasketball adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of basketball¹

An Americanism dating back to 1890–95; basket + ball ¹

Example Sentences

“How comfortable am I getting? Um, real comfortable, to where I am starting to know their plays and where the screens are and in general, Lakers terms and Lakers basketball,” he said.

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Why can baseball and basketball players do their jobs with 60,000 hostile fans cursing at full volume but golfers and tennis players need complete silence to do theirs?

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The power conferences want to expand the men’s basketball tournament to get more of their teams in.

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“In virtually every country or territory around the world, basketball is the No. 1 or No. 2 sport,” said deputy commissioner Mark Tatum.

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The only thing NBA teams spend more time doing than playing basketball games is hunting for unicorns.

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Related Words

• ball