noun
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a game in which two teams hit a large ball back and forth over a high net with their hands
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the ball used in this game
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of volleyball
Explanation
Interested in playing a team sport? Consider volleyball, a game in which players use their arms and hands to hit a ball across a net, trying to keep the ball in the air. Teams score a point when the volleyball hits the floor on their opponent's side. There are two ways to play volleyball: in a gym and outside in the sand, a style known as beach volleyball. The indoor version requires six players per team, while the beach style has two players per side. Volleyball is a serious sport (it's even played in the Olympics), but you can also play for fun at a picnic or at the beach. Volleyball was invented in the late 1800s, right around the time basketball was first catching on.
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.
See Examples For:
Jake has a twin sophomore sister who plays volleyball and softball.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Over the echo of nearby explosions, they sometimes play beach volleyball near the river -- "the most beautiful place in town".
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
“You have to imagine that you just finished volleyball practice and the JV squad is having a horrendous season to really get the full picture.”
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
As a backup plan, Thomas sought top performances on her volleyball and cross-country teams, thinking she might get recruited.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
But then I see Brianna; she’s with a bunch of girls from the volleyball team.
From "The Fourteenth Goldfish" by Jennifer L. Holm
The real-life adaptation, created by students in the United States in 2005, is equally fast-paced and sees so-called chasers trying to throw quaffles - semi-deflated volleyballs - through the opposition's hoops.
From BBC ● Feb. 22, 2025
Comical as it is at times to watch 300-pound linemen lunge for volleyballs, the drill has a purpose.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 3, 2022
Officials in gloves sanitize the volleyballs, wipe down the table tennis surface and spray down the corners of the boxing rings.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 5, 2021
Call them “indoor beach volleyball camps,” except without the sand or the volleyballs.
From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2019
Each morning, a load of stones about the size of volleyballs was dumped by the entrance to the courtyard.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
