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:
There’s also the Venice girls volleyball tournament taking place at Venice High and the Woodbridge Classic cross-country meet at the Great Park in Irvine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
In the evening, Nike has flown in a custom-made outdoor volleyball court so Sherman Oaks Notre Dame can host Harvard-Westlake in a 7 p.m. girls’ volleyball match played on the Notre Dame baseball field.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 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
The French were never happy about volleyball day.
From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness
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
The blue-and-white design for the Hammer includes the museum’s name on one side and, on the other, the chant “Art Will Save Us” — flanked by a pair of flaming volleyballs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2024
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
A few of the kids have decided to kick off their weekends by hurling volleyballs at the giant clock.
From "Liar & Spy" by Rebecca Stead
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.
