croquet
Americannoun
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a game played by knocking wooden balls through metal wickets with mallets.
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(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)
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
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the act of croqueting
verb
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.
The crash occurred about a mile away from the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, which is hosting the world-famous Wimbledon tennis tournament.
From Washington Times • Jul. 6, 2023
The incident occurred about a mile away from the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club as it hosts the world-famous tennis tournament.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 6, 2023
Camp Road is about a mile from the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club where the Wimbledon Grand Slam championship is taking place.
From Reuters • Jul. 6, 2023
Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, told journalists there is "100% bag search" and "selective body search" at all gates.
From BBC • Jul. 4, 2023
Croquet parties are great occasions for pretty costumes; all this was talked over.
From Richard Vandermarck by Harris, Miriam Coles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
