First recorded in 1900–05
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A secret visit by national security adviser Henry Kissinger the year before laid the groundwork for the presidential trip, alongside reciprocal visits of table tennis teams termed "ping-pong diplomacy".
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill is currently stuck in parliamentary "ping-pong", where legislation moves between the Commons and Lords until agreement is reached on its final wording.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
The dragging of ship anchors, a main way cables get taken out, can damage even armored cables, which are wrapped in steel wire but still roughly the diameter of a ping-pong ball.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
“Most engineers want to do the 1:00 to 3:45 with a ping-pong break and an hour lunch. That’s the way the Valley worked,” McCardel said.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 4, 2026
“Did you ever go to the South Side Boys’ Club, the place where Mr. Dalton sent those ping-pong tables?”
From "Native Son" by Richard Wright
He purchased a Ping-Pong table as his first piece of furniture.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2024
On the fifth bounce, as the hanger nears the end of its path, the Ping-Pong ball, miraculously, lands and stays inside the tiny cup.
From New York Times ● Feb. 24, 2024
Jen used to exercise in the basement, beside the Ping-Pong table, and yell at his photos on the wall.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 6, 2023
The favorite spot among players at the Ryder Cup is their team room, with its food and drinks, plenty of laughter, motivational moments and for the Americans, epic tales of Ping-Pong.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 27, 2023
Sure, and after lunch I can beat you in Ping-Pong, Mom answers.
From "Booked" by Kwame Alexander
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.
