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.
Like Guardiola, Maresca talks to Julio Velasco, an Argentine-Italian volleyball coach, and basketball coach Ettore Messina, as he searches for ideas outside of football.
From BBC • Jun. 29, 2026
Along the pool’s sandy shores, individuals can use the volleyball courts and teqball table.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026
The court heard Chiedza and her cousin went to play volleyball at the water's edge.
From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026
Jhaj, who speaks some Hindi, which he learnt in a government school around their settlement, has become a keen volleyball player.
From Barron's • May 18, 2026
Chiron lay on a horse-size stretcher by the volleyball pit, a bunch of satyrs standing around him.
From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan
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.
