basketball

American  

[bas-kit-bawl, bah-skit-] / ˈbæs kɪtˌbɔl, ˈbɑ skɪt- /

noun

• basketballs
  plural

1. 

   a game played by two teams of usually five players each on a rectangular court having a raised basket or goal at each end, points being scored by tossing the ball through the opponent's basket.

2. the round, inflated ball approximately 30 inches (76 centimeters) in circumference, used in this game.

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basketball British  

/ ˈbɑːskɪtˌbɔːl /

noun

1. 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

2. the inflated ball used in this game

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• probasketball
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• basketballs
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of basketball

An Americanism dating back to 1890–95; basket + ball ¹

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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

See Examples For:

basketball basketballs

Asked if he’s still watching basketball, Yanai said, “A lot.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

“I’m not putting her in the game to rebound,” said Kara Lawson, Reese’s head coach for the U.S. women’s basketball team, which won this summer’s World Cup.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

They baked cupcakes, made West African food, played pool and had a go at basketball.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Ga., where the team has played most of its home games since 2021, seats only 3,500 people for basketball games.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

I sneak out through the cafeteria doors and am immediately in the middle of a basketball game.

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

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 said after we pulled a bunch of basketballs out from behind the bleachers.

From "The Million Dollar Shot" by Dan Gutman

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Related Words

• ball

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