hockey

American  

[hok-ee] / ˈhɒk i /

noun

1. ice hockey.

2. field hockey.

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hockey ¹ British  

/ ˈhɒkɪ /

noun

1. Also called (esp US and Canadian): field hockey. 

   1. a game played on a field by two opposing teams of 11 players each, who try to hit a ball into their opponents' goal using long sticks curved at the end

   2. ( as modifier )

      hockey stick

      hockey ball

2. See ice hockey

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hockey ² British  

/ ˈhɒkɪ /

noun

1. Also: hawkey.   horkey.  dialect

   1. the feast at harvest home; harvest supper

   2. ( as modifier )

      the hockey cart

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Etymology

Origin of hockey

1520–30; earlier hockie, perhaps equivalent to hock- hook ¹ + -ie -ie

Explanation

Hockey is short for ice hockey or field hockey, but it usually refers to ice hockey, the sport where people skate on ice and use big hockey sticks to whack a puck into a goal. For ice hockey, players wear protective gear and helmets. A flat puck is knocked across the ice with long, paddle-shaped sticks. Field hockey is similar, though there is less contact between players, and a ball, instead of a puck, is smacked with sticks. The origin of hockey is slightly unclear, although it may stem from the Middle French hoquet, "shepherd's staff," which resembles a hockey stick.

Example Sentences

If being a head coach in the Stanley Cup playoffs is a dream come true for Smith, a hockey lifer, it may be a bittersweet one.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 20, 2026

Ostrover and Lipschultz have become billionaires, buying a hockey team, a piece of a football team and luxury real estate.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

Buffalo didn’t merely turn its season around to reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs—it also ended a 14-year streak of missing postseason hockey.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

However, there would be a second act for Vachon’s hockey career and naturally it would unfold in Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026

I did not include that I had started taking stats for my field hockey team because it hurt my back to bend over the stick all the time.

From "I Will Always Write Back" by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda