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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.

“The home also includes a 500-square-foot laundry room. Outdoors, the estate offers an international competition-standard tennis court and a regulation-size basketball court.”

From MarketWatch • Apr. 23, 2026

When the future of the Boston Celtics came crashing to the court in Madison Square Garden last May, Martin O’Malley was just like any other basketball fan watching on TV.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

The most crowded trade for the 2028 election belongs to basketball superstar LeBron James.

From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026

The Oakland Raiders had a throwaway 12th-round pick in the 1977 draft, and then-coach John Madden grew frustrated hearing his personnel executives contemplate using it on a basketball player or track guy.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 20, 2026

I’ve played basketball before, and I like it.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

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.