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ice hockey

American  

noun

  1. a game played on ice between two teams of six skaters each, the object being to score goals by shooting a puck into the opponents' cage using a stick with a wooden blade set at an obtuse angle to the shaft.


ice hockey British  

noun

  1. a game played on ice by two opposing teams of six players each, who wear skates and try to propel a flat puck into their opponents' goal with long sticks having an offset flat blade at the end

"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

Etymology

Origin of ice hockey

First recorded in 1880–85

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.

USA men's ice hockey player Brady Tkachuk has distanced himself from an AI-enhanced White House video in which he appears to disparage Canadians, saying "those words would never come out of my mouth".

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026

Yet, in one of the more extraordinary fixtures in recent sporting memory, the United States upset mighty Canada in Italy on Sunday to capture the Olympic gold medal in men’s ice hockey.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

The Americans won the men's Olympic ice hockey gold since the 'Miracle on Ice' victory over the Soviet Union at the 1980 Lake Placid Games.

From Barron's • Feb. 22, 2026

MILAN—The last time the Americans won a gold medal in men’s ice hockey on the sport’s grandest stage, they needed a miracle.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 22, 2026

“It’s not ice hockey, Carter! Watch the checking!”

From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan