billiards

American  

[bil-yerdz] / ˈbɪl yərdz /

noun

(used with a singular verb)

1. any of several games played with hard balls of ivory or a similar material that are driven with a cue on a cloth-covered table enclosed by a raised rim of rubber, especially a game played with a cue ball and two object balls on a table without pockets.

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billiards British  

/ ˈbɪljədz /

noun

1. any of various games in which long cues are used to drive balls now made of composition or plastic. It is played on a rectangular table covered with a smooth tight-fitting cloth and having raised cushioned edges

2. a version of this, played on a rectangular table having six pockets let into the corners and the two longer sides. Points are scored by striking one of three balls with the cue to contact the other two or one of the two Compare pool 2 snooker

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Other Word Forms

• billiardist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of billiards

First recorded in 1585–95; plural of billiard

Explanation

Billiards is a table game in which players try to knock balls into pockets with a long stick. The game known as "pool" is considered to be one type of billiards. When you challenge a friend to a game of billiards, you'll take turns tapping hard balls with the end of a cue stick. These balls roll across a cloth-covered table and knock against other balls. The goal of the game is to get certain balls into certain pockets. Billiards is said to have evolved from lawn games like croquet, and the word itself, originally referring to the stick itself, comes from the French bille, or "stick."

Example Sentences

Geoff Foulds: , external Former player was the director and then chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.

From BBC • Dec. 18, 2025

His father, Roberto, acquired it shortly after purchasing a pool hall called First Street Billiards in Boyle Heights.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2025

“My own moniker was given to me when I walked into Roman Billiards in Silver Spring one day in 1967 wearing a Montgomery County taxi cab badge,” Andy wrote.

From Washington Post • Dec. 3, 2022

I’d love to be able to play a round of Monkey Billiards as Kiryu from Yakuza.

From The Verge • Oct. 2, 2021

Long envious cords my black portmanteau tighten; Billiards, begone! avaunt, illegal loo!

From Highways and Byways in Sussex by Griggs, Frederick Landseer Maur