table tennis

American  

noun

1. a game resembling tennis, played on a table with small paddles and a hollow celluloid or plastic ball.

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table tennis British  

noun

1. a miniature form of tennis played on a table with small bats and a light hollow ball

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Etymology

Origin of table tennis

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Yarrow hopes that the Norway squad photo, which will sit next to a table tennis table at the side's Greensboro base in North Carolina, has the same impact.

From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026

Sabbir reads manuals on the theory of navigation, and Islamic texts—or plays table tennis with his crew.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2026

“Here we present Ace, to our knowledge the first real-world autonomous system competitive with elite human table tennis players,” the study said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026

"I'd love to play table tennis as a living."

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

At the Community Center you could always tell when he had been playing table tennis by the dampness of the bat handle.

From "1984" by George Orwell