croquet

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

/ kroʊˈkeɪ; British ˈkroʊ keɪ, -ki /

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.

Words nearby croquet

cropland, cropper, croppie, cropt, croquembouche, croquet, croquette, croquignole, croquis, crore, crorepati

Origin of croquet

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

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH croquet

coquette croquet croquette

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for croquet

In front were two large lawns, an upper one used for croquet and a lower one for tennis.
The Third Class at Miss Kaye's|Angela Brazil
"No, the croquet must be shifted to the right; it gives more margin," she was saying.
Scarlet and Hyssop|E. F. Benson
The Lowders had sent to ask us all to a croquet party there at four o'clock.
Richard Vandermarck|Miriam Coles Harris
It is deserted, like croquet, and it is even less to be regretted.
Cock Lane and Common-Sense|Andrew Lang

Mrs. Travilla, returning from a visit to the quarter, stopped a moment to watch the croquet players.
Elsie's Widowhood|Martha Finley

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

Word Origin for 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