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.

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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.

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Ping-Pong British  

/ ˈpɪŋˌpɒŋ /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of ping-pong

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Luckily, a rigged ping-pong exhibition match allows Marty to embrace his theatrical talents.

From Los Angeles Times

“And then there’s that final moment where Marty’s in the ambience of the stadium crowd embracing him, where all the people who love ping-pong are around him. It was a big step for him in the search of his identity of who he was.”

From Los Angeles Times

He began tossing things out —a Ping-Pong paddle, a cowboy hat, a hand puppet, swim fins.

From Literature

The changes made to the bill will be considered by MPs during the parliamentary tussle known as "ping-pong", which sees legislation move between the Commons and Lords until agreement on its wording is reached.

From BBC

In a twist of nostalgic synergy, the ping-pong game was invented in 1972, one year before One Liberty Plaza was constructed beside downtown’s Zuccotti Park.

From The Wall Street Journal