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water polo

American  

noun

  1. an aquatic game played by two teams of seven swimmers each, the object being to score goals by pushing, carrying, or passing an inflated ball and tossing it into the opponent's goal, defended by a goalkeeper.


water polo British  

noun

  1. a game played in water by two teams of seven swimmers in which each side tries to throw or propel an inflated ball into the opponents' goal

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of water polo

First recorded in 1885–90

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:

Scottish Swimming, the national governing body for swimming, diving, open water, artistic swimming and water polo in Scotland, said it was "disappointed" by South Ayrshire Council's decision.

From BBC Mar. 18, 2026

Sophia Panossian, a water polo player at the University of Michigan, urged viewers to help her “get ready with me” by checking Kalshi’s weather odds.

From The Wall Street Journal Mar. 6, 2026

Romain says in the lawsuit that he left Harvard-Westlake at the end of that school year and moved to Barcelona to escape and continue to pursue his water polo training.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 4, 2026

His support for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Games went beyond the water polo teams.

From Los Angeles Times Feb. 27, 2026

“I have friends on the water polo team. I’ve heard stories. They’d have to pay me to drink that water.”

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

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