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:
"This is my Wilson," he said, a reference to a volleyball that Tom Hanks's character talked to in the film Cast Away.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
Having such a strong support system makes McKennah well-equipped to handle the ups and downs of volleyball and life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026
Two teams were sent to the wrong venue, delaying a volleyball match.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
South Korea's men's volleyball players were forced to cancel their practice on Monday morning after an official bus went to the incorrect place.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
I didn’t expect or want a volleyball scholarship, I simply wanted to prove to colleges that I was well rounded and could handle sports and academics year-round.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
Kendrick and Lively toss barbs like volleyballs, occasionally landing a good spike that makes the other one speechless.
From Salon ● May 3, 2025
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
So I tell her I’m sorry, it won’t happen again, then head off to my next class.Gym class is supposed to be about balls: volleyballs, basketballs, softballs, soccer balls—sometimes sit-ups and always sweat.
From "The Crossover" by Kwame Alexander
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
