basketball
Americannoun
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
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.
To play basketball you need only a ball and a basket.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026
Finch had emerged from the lowest level of college basketball imaginable, playing at Division III Franklin & Marshall before decamping to the steel town in Yorkshire to keep his playing career alive.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026
After playing college basketball at San Jose State and then Gonzaga, he was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder and traded to the Grizzlies soon after.
From BBC • May 12, 2026
"Air Bud Returns," slated for release in US theaters in 2027, is the latest chapter in a franchise that began in 1997 featuring a runaway circus dog who has an extraordinary ability to play basketball.
From Barron's • May 10, 2026
Despite her size, Jonesy’s the best player on the seventh-grade girls’ basketball team.
From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell
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.
