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definitions

half-volley

[haf-vol-ee, hahf-]
verb (used with or without object), half-vol·leyed, half-vol·ley·ing.
  1. to make or stroke with a half volley.

Origin of half-volley

First recorded in 1870–75
Related formshalf-vol·ley·er, noun

half volley

noun
  1. (in tennis, racquets, etc.) a stroke in which the ball is hit the moment it bounces from the ground.

Origin of half volley

First recorded in 1875–80
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for half-volley

Historical Examples of half-volley

  • A half-volley came down from the pavilion end—a half-volley and off the wicket.

    The Hill

    Horace Annesley Vachell

  • He bowled me a half-volley on the off the first ball I had in a school match.

    Mike

    P. G. Wodehouse

  • The last ball of the over, a half-volley to leg, he lifted over the other boundary.

    Mike

    P. G. Wodehouse

  • At last he mis-hit a half-volley and was caught in the deep for seventy-two.

  • Janet made a powerful stroke at it, apparently thinking it was a half-volley.

British Dictionary definitions for half-volley

half volley

noun
  1. a stroke or shot in which the ball is hit immediately after it bounces
verb half-volley
  1. to hit or kick (a ball) immediately after it bounces
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