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Synonyms

basketball

American  
[bas-kit-bawl, bah-skit-] / ˈbæs kɪtˌbɔl, ˈbɑ skɪt- /

noun

  1. a game played by two teams of usually five players each on a rectangular court having a raised basket or goal at each end, points being scored by tossing the ball through the opponent's basket.

  2. the round, inflated ball approximately 30 inches (76 centimeters) in circumference, used in this game.

basketball British  
/ ˈbɑːskɪtˌbɔːl /

noun

  1. a game played by two opposing teams of five men (or six women) each, usually on an indoor court. Points are scored by throwing the ball through an elevated horizontal metal hoop

  2. the inflated ball used in this game

"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

Other Word Forms

  • probasketball adjective

Etymology

Origin of basketball

An Americanism dating back to 1890–95; basket + ball 1

Explanation

Basketball is a team sport in which players work together to bounce a ball down the length of a court and throw it through a hoop. Some college basketball games are hugely popular and very competitive. In basketball, two teams of five players collaborate to score points by successfully throwing the ball — also called a basketball — through the nets that hang from hoops at either end of the court. The game was invented in 1891, and the word basketball first appeared in print the next year, from basket and ball.

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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.

He would tell you he’s been beating them the whole time, coming from where he started to where he is now, a billionaire basketball player-slash-businessman, he’s scored more points than anyone, ever.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

“In a basketball game,” he said, “when you are winning after the first quarter, you usually win the game.”

From MarketWatch • Apr. 17, 2026

“Basketball was a vehicle for being able to do that. It’s unclear whether Nike can use basketball in the same way today.”

From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026

With help from a basketball scholarship, he majored in biology at Seattle University, a Roman Catholic school.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

It was like the moment in a basketball game when every cell in his body seemed to know, Time for your breakaway go!

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

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.