alley-oop

American  

[al-ee-oop] / ˈæl iˈup /

interjection

1. (used as a shout of encouragement, exhortation, or the like, especially when coordinating efforts to lift a heavy object.)

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noun

1. Basketball. a quick-score play in which a high, arching pass is made to a teammate close to the basket, who leaps to catch the ball and in midair drops or stuffs it through the basket.

Etymology

Origin of alley-oop

First recorded in 1915–20; from French allez-hop; allez, imperative of aller “to go” + hop, variant of houp, an interjection of expressive origin; cf. alley ¹ ( def. ), hoopla ( def. )

Explanation

An alley-oop is a collaborative play in basketball, when one player passes the ball and the other jumps, catches, and dunks it before landing back on the court. If your team wants to impress its fans, you should practice perfecting the alley-oop. The offensive move is fun to watch and always surprising, requiring excellent timing and teamwork. Alley-oop comes from the cry of a French circus acrobat, allez hop!. The term was first used in American sports to describe a high pass, catch, and touchdown by the 1950 San Francisco 49ers, but it was soon adopted by basketball players to name the brand new play.

Example Sentences

Midway through Friday’s game, James led a fastbreak and threw an inch-perfect alley-oop assist.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026

The Lakers star then passed to a hustling Austin Reaves, who took a few dribbles to get a Kings defender to commit before making an alley-oop pass to James for a two-handed, rim-hanging dunk.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 2, 2026

The Illini kept pouring it on until the final minute, when Illinois’ big man Tomislav Ivisic threw down an alley-oop to push Illinois into triple digits.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2026

Paul brought “Lob City” to L.A., throwing alley-oop passes to star forward Blake Griffin, who soared through the air to dunk them down.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 23, 2025

“The wind blows north," Dad had to shout, “from Normandy, over the Channel, smacks into these cliffs and alley-oop, a thermal updraft! Perfect for kites!"

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell