croquet
Americannoun
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a game played by knocking wooden balls through metal wickets with mallets.
-
(in croquet) the act of driving away an opponent's ball by striking one's own when the two are in contact.
verb (used with object)
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croquets,
present (3rd person singular)
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croqueted,
past participle, past
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croqueting
present participle
noun
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a game for two to four players who hit a wooden ball through iron hoops with mallets in order to hit a peg
-
the act of croqueting
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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croquetsimple
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croquetssimple
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have croquetedperfect
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has croquetedperfect
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am croquetingprogressive
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are croquetingprogressive
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is croquetingprogressive
-
have been croquetingperfect progressive
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has been croquetingperfect progressive
Past
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croquetedsimple
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had croquetedperfect
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was croquetingprogressive
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were croquetingprogressive
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had been croquetingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of croquet
1855–60; < French (dial.): hockey stick, literally, little hook; see crocket
Explanation
Croquet (rhymes with “okay”) is a lawn game played by whacking a wooden ball with a mallet. It was all the rage in Europe in the 1800s, but people still play it worldwide, often at summer parties. When you play croquet, you have a colored wooden ball and a matching mallet. Players take turns trying to hit their balls under a series of hoops or to knock someone else’s out of the way. When Alice is in Wonderland, the Queen of Hearts uses a flamingo as a mallet and a hedgehog for a ball, but that is not recommended. In Northern French dialect, croquet means "hockey stick," originally "shepherd's crook" in Old North French.
Vocabulary lists containing croquet
2015 Spelling Bee - Words from Round 2
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English Words Derived from French, List 6
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Baseball in April
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Eighteenth century activities included croquet and designing a custom perfume, all accompanied by fashion photography.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2026
It’s croquet for people who like running on the tops of speeding trains.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
He was also photographed playing croquet with his staff on the lawn at Dorneywood, the official country home that came with the job of deputy prime minister.
From New York Times ● Nov. 21, 2024
It turned out the guests who rented the waterfront home weren’t just playing croquet, they were holding a tournament that ended shortly after sunset, but the celebration continued.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 21, 2023
With one eye on the sky, I rested under a croquet hoop to catch my breath and rest my bulging bag.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
Greenspan calls the dough for croquets — little more than egg whites and nuts — a “misbehaver,” but mine was, strangely, not.
From Washington Post
We sent out free goat cheese croquets with fresh fig jam to every person who came in to eat.
From "The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora" by Pablo Cartaya
If he roquets a friend, he croquets his ball into better position, or perhaps through its proper bridge.
From Croquet As played by the Newport Croquet Club by Anonymous
It is customary first to use fat for croquets, rissoles, fritters and other delicate things, and then to take it for fish.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 3 "Convention" to "Copyright" by Various
If he roquets an enemy's ball, he croquets it, if he wishes, into a disadvantageous position.
From Croquet As played by the Newport Croquet Club by Anonymous
England wing Abby Dow and her star-struck Spanish opposite number Claudia Perez exchanging a croqueted keyring, a hand-drawn portrait and shirts, external after their match last month was an irresistible example.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2025
It was while they were off, apart down the slope, just croqueted away for the time, to come up again with tremendous charge presently, that Harry asked her if she knew the game of "ship-coil."
From We Girls: a Home Story by A. D. T. (Adeline Dutton Train) Whitney
As he has no bridges to run he can never re-roquet, and hence after he has roqueted and croqueted all the other balls his tour terminates at the next blow.
From Croquet As played by the Newport Croquet Club by Anonymous
The lineal descendant of St. Peter croqueted his ball through the arch and rejoiced that he was on saving ground.
From The Story of Chautauqua by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut
Not croqueting is sufficient evidence of declining; but if none are croqueted, and the ball is not moved to the side of any one, the player must declare which he means to decline.
From Croquet As played by the Newport Croquet Club by Anonymous
“Yankees are a deal the most tricky, everybody knows. There you go!” returned Fred, croqueting her ball far away.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
The croquet is completed when the mallet makes a perceptible blow against the croqueting ball; but if the mallet altogether miss it, the blow may be repeated.
From Croquet As played by the Newport Croquet Club by Anonymous
Not croqueting is sufficient evidence of declining; but if none are croqueted, and the ball is not moved to the side of any one, the player must declare which he means to decline.
From Croquet As played by the Newport Croquet Club by Anonymous
A ball moved under the foot in croqueting, but not flinching, is accidentally displaced.
From Croquet As played by the Newport Croquet Club by Anonymous
No. The right to re-roquet must be acquired after croqueting or moving the playing ball.
From Croquet As played by the Newport Croquet Club by Anonymous
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
