croquet

[ kroh-key; British kroh-key, -kee ]

noun

a game played by knocking wooden balls through metal wickets with mallets.
(in croquet) the act of driving away an opponent's ball by striking one's own when the two are in contact.

verb (used with object),cro·queted

[kroh-keyd; British kroh-keyd, -keed], /kroʊˈkeɪd; British ˈkroʊ keɪd, -kid/, cro·quet·ing

[kroh-key-ing; British kroh-key-ing, -kee-ing]. /kroʊˈkeɪ ɪŋ; British ˈkroʊ keɪ ɪŋ, -ki ɪŋ/.

to drive away (a ball) by a croquet.

Origin of croquet

1855–60; <French (dial.): hockey stick, literally, little hook; see crocket

Words that may be confused with croquet

coquette, croquet , croquette

Words Nearby croquet

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use croquet in a sentence

croquet isn’t the only 19th-century pursuit thriving on Mount Desert Island.
Don’t call it relaxation. On this Maine island, vacation is for rusticating. | Jen Rose Smith | September 10, 2021 | Washington Post
Put another way, for every four gallons used for cooking, washing, and bathing, another six go for preparing the croquet course.
Should I Move to the Southwest, Even Though There’s a Drought? | mskenazy | September 1, 2021 | Outside Online
Motor boating, pigeon shooting, pistol dueling, and croquet were all featured in the 1900 games, to name just a few of the wildest examples.
How Abebe Bikila won the Olympic marathon without shoes | Rachel Feltman | June 23, 2021 | Popular-Science
The Cockalorum pondered over this for a moment, and then murmuring, "I prefer croquet," floundered away through the waving grass.
Davy and The Goblin | Charles E. Carryl
After breakfast we had a merry time at croquet, and then a still merrier time at foot-ball.
The Nursery, January 1873, Vol. XIII. | Various

To half a tennis-lawn add two ounces of croquet-mallet and three arches of pergola, and reduce the whole to a fine powder.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 152, May 16, 1917. | Various
croquet playing became so interesting to us that we could not find time to do all our playing during the day.
The Boy Mechanic, Book 2 | Various
Then followed days of tennis and croquet, of picnics and teas with the Vicar's pretty daughters and the Squire's awkward sons.
The Devourers | Annie Vivanti Chartres

British Dictionary definitions for croquet

croquet

/ (ˈkrəʊkeɪ, -kɪ) /

noun

a game for two to four players who hit a wooden ball through iron hoops with mallets in order to hit a peg
the act of croqueting

verb-quets (-keɪz, -kɪz), -queting (-keɪɪŋ, -kɪɪŋ) or -queted (-keɪd, -kɪd)

to drive away (another player's ball) by hitting one's own ball when the two are in contact

Origin of croquet

C19: perhaps from French dialect, variant of crochet (little hook)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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