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Showing results for air ball. Search instead for air billow.
Synonyms

air ball

American  

noun

Basketball.
  1. a missed shot that fails to touch the rim, net, or backboard.


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:

The start of the National Basketball Association season Tuesday is set to test whether the NBA rights package will be a slam dunk or an air ball for NBCU.

From The Wall Street Journal Oct. 21, 2025

With Leonard scoring the final six points of the first half — a half that included a Harden air ball from behind the arc — the Clippers cut the margin to seven by the intermission.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 24, 2024

Funk’s streak ended when he put up an air ball on a desperation 3 as the shot clock was running out.

From Washington Times Mar. 17, 2023

Bradley missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Arthur Kaluma dribbled the length of the court before lofting an air ball from the baseline as time expired.

From Seattle Times Mar. 17, 2022

“It’ll feel stupider when you chuck an air ball in front of a million people.”

From "The Million Dollar Shot" by Dan Gutman

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