basketball
Americannoun
-
basketballs
plural
noun
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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
-
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:
The sprawling property has everything from standard rooms to stand-alone lake houses, plus indoor and outdoor pools, lawn games, basketball and pickleball courts.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
Onitsuka Tigers started out as a basketball shoe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026
"This decision has not been easy. While I understand and respect that roster decisions are a part of college basketball, I have to remain true to myself, my values and my country."
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank will be suspended without pay for six months.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
It was like the moment in a basketball game when every cell in his body seemed to know, Time for your breakaway go!
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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
He checks the old office where he borrowed basketballs as a kid.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 5, 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
I was in the gym, shooting basketballs every day, working on my game.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2025
Next we jog our five miles, dribbling our basketballs the whole time.
From "Boy21" by Matthew Quick
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.
