Jump To:

• ping-pong
  ping-pong

  verb (used with object)

  to move back and forth or transfer rapidly from one locale, job, etc., to another; switch.
• Ping-Pong
  Ping-Pong

  table tennis.

ping-pong

¹ American  

[ping-pong, -pawng] / ˈpɪŋˌpɒŋ, -ˌpɔŋ /

verb (used with object)

1. to move back and forth or transfer rapidly from one locale, job, etc., to another; switch.

   The patient was ping-ponged from one medical specialist to another.

---

verb (used without object)

1. to go back and forth; change rapidly or regularly; shift; bounce.

   For ten years the foreign correspondent ping-ponged between London and Paris.

Ping-Pong ² American  

[ping-pong, -pawng] / ˈpɪŋˌpɒŋ, -ˌpɔŋ /

Trademark.

1. table tennis.

---

Ping-Pong British  

/ ˈpɪŋˌpɒŋ /

noun

1. Also called: ping pong.  another name for table tennis

---

Etymology

Origin of ping-pong

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ping-pong Ping-Pong

In January Takaichi and President Lee Jae Myung jammed on the drums together, while Koizumi played ping-pong with his counterpart.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

Even that “Shark Tank” guy from the ping-pong movie who got $15 million from Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX is building data centers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026

“Most engineers want to do the 1:00 to 3:45 with a ping-pong break and an hour lunch. That’s the way the Valley worked,” McCardel said.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 4, 2026

Spalding brought his grandfather’s ping-pong table to the volleyball room at school for more fun.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026

‘Now fetch me the young Prince’s ping-pong table,’ Mr Tibbs whispered.

From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl

He purchased a Ping-Pong table as his first piece of furniture.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2024

There are nights when Michael Shields lies awake next to his wife and thinks about Ping-Pong balls.

From New York Times ● Feb. 24, 2024

“In a larger space, you can add in a Ping-Pong table, pool table, a bowling alley — really anything you can imagine and your space allows for.”

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 10, 2023

The favorite spot among players at the Ryder Cup is their team room, with its food and drinks, plenty of laughter, motivational moments and for the Americans, epic tales of Ping-Pong.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 27, 2023

Trying to flee Mr. Irvin, she jumped on the Ping-Pong table in the rec room.

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter