basketball
nounverbcommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ˈbɑːs.kɪt.bɔːl//
- United States//ˈbæs.kɪt.bɔl//
- //ˈbæs.kɪt.bɑl//
A sport in which two opposing teams of five players strive to put a ball through a hoop.
noun
- 1
A sport in which two opposing teams of five players strive to put a ball through a hoop.
to play basketball
He pursued basketball as his career.
Children playing basketball at their home in front of the John Amos coal-fired power plant in Poca, W.Va. President Biden’s infrastructure plan includes climate change measures that aim to close coal-fired plants.
- 2
The particular kind of ball used in the sport of basketball.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Celtic *baskis Proto-Brythonicder. Late Latin bascauda Anglo-Norman bascatbor. Middle English basket English basket Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-der. Proto-Germanic *balluz Old English *beall Middle English bal English ball English basketball From basket + ball.
verb
- 1
informalTo play basketball.
by high school he was basketballing with the best of an all-Negro league
- 2
informalTo throw in a similar way to when shooting a basketball.
He took a sip from a paper coffee-cup , crumpled it up and basketballed it into a small rubbish bin about five feet from him.
Forms
- plural
- basketballs
- past tense
- basketballed
- past participle
- basketballed
- present participle
- basketballing
- third person singular
- basketballs
basketball · A sport in which two opposing teams of five players strive to put a ball through a hoop.
bass · Of sound, a voice or an instrument, low in pitch or frequency.Bass · A surname.bastard · A mongrel (biological cross between different breeds, groups…