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
-
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.
Chiedza, who could not swim, got out of her depth while fetching a volleyball from the sea while playing with her 11-year-old cousin.
From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026
The court heard Chiedza and her cousin went to play volleyball at the water's edge.
From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026
The two volleyball leagues have vastly different models.
From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026
Pack up the car and get ready for temperatures in the upper 80s this coming weekend in Clovis and Fresno, where CIF state championships will be held in track and field and boys’ volleyball.
From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2026
Though neither of them had a country on their knee until a very long time after having to go to PE and play volleyball.
From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness
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.
