hockey
Americannoun
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Also called (esp US and Canadian): field hockey.
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a game played on a field by two opposing teams of 11 players each, who try to hit a ball into their opponents' goal using long sticks curved at the end
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( as modifier )
hockey stick
hockey ball
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See ice hockey
noun
Etymology
Origin of hockey
1520–30; earlier hockie, perhaps equivalent to hock- hook 1 + -ie -ie
Explanation
Hockey is short for ice hockey or field hockey, but it usually refers to ice hockey, the sport where people skate on ice and use big hockey sticks to whack a puck into a goal. For ice hockey, players wear protective gear and helmets. A flat puck is knocked across the ice with long, paddle-shaped sticks. Field hockey is similar, though there is less contact between players, and a ball, instead of a puck, is smacked with sticks. The origin of hockey is slightly unclear, although it may stem from the Middle French hoquet, "shepherd's staff," which resembles a hockey stick.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This is me trying my best to explain hockey without getting an angry phone call from Don Cherry or Mark Messier.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026
“My daddy was the goalie for the Hungarian national ice hockey team.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
Moving the schedule meant the matches would be directly competing with the football, basketball and hockey seasons in the U.S., potentially lowering ratings.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026
“It’s like a hockey stick on a hockey stick,” said Noelle Walsh, president of Microsoft’s cloud operations and innovation, referring to the company’s power usage rise because of AI.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026
Ellis’s teammate and running partner, and Dee’s old friend from hockey camp.
From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
