free throw lane

noun

, Basketball.

1. the rectangular area, 19 feet (5.7 meters) long and usually 12 or 16 feet (3.6 m or 4.8 meters) wide, extending from the end line behind each backboard to the foul line and along the sides of which players line up during a foul shot.

Word History and Origins

Origin of free throw lane¹

First recorded in 1925–30