basketball
Americannoun
-
basketballs
plural
noun
-
a game played by two opposing teams of five men (or six women) each, usually on an indoor court. Points are scored by throwing the ball through an elevated horizontal metal hoop
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the inflated ball used in this game
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of basketball
Explanation
Basketball is a team sport in which players work together to bounce a ball down the length of a court and throw it through a hoop. Some college basketball games are hugely popular and very competitive. In basketball, two teams of five players collaborate to score points by successfully throwing the ball — also called a basketball — through the nets that hang from hoops at either end of the court. The game was invented in 1891, and the word basketball first appeared in print the next year, from basket and ball.
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:
Founded in Massachusetts in the early 1900s, the popularity of Converse has skyrocketed since its Chuck Taylor sneaker was first introduced to US basketball courts in 1917.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
He might expand to other European cities and bring basketball games too.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
The buyers of the Los Angeles Lakers are telling prospective investors they expect to nearly triple the basketball team’s valuation within 10 years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
If fans need any extra entertainment, keep track of St. Francis’ two very tall basketball players on the field.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
The other kids are just running around, playing basketball or four square.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
Specs can digitize a chess board, provide AR-guided training for shooting basketballs and even highlight the coolant reservoir under the hood of a car, according to videos and photos online.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026
Other sports have made accommodations for female body types, such as lower sprint hurdles in athletics or lighter and smaller basketballs.
From BBC ● May 6, 2026
There I was, dribbling basketballs like a Globetrotter, diving through inter-dimensional portals, riding on the back of a galloping dinosaur in an explosive train heist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025
Aday Mara and Lazar Stefanovic stood alongside one another on the perimeter and tapped basketballs before firing three-pointers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2025
Aru wanted to believe this meant they would find objects like deflated basketballs, mismatched socks, or bobby pins.
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
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.
