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Showing results for air ball. Search instead for airballed.
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.

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

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

Instead, he threw up an air ball worse than anything Russell Westbrook could ever offer.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2022

If not an air ball, it certainly seemed like a miss.

From Washington Post • Mar. 29, 2022

No way I was going to chuck an air ball.

From "The Million Dollar Shot" by Dan Gutman

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