variants
or air-ball
airballed or air-balled; airballing or air-balling; airballs or air-balls
US, basketball
: to completely miss the rim and backboard with a shot : to shoot an air ball
Fesenko … badly airballed a free throw in the first quarter.—
Ross Siler
Ross Siler
variants
or airball
plural air balls or airballs
US, basketball
: a shot that completely misses the rim and backboard
Examples of airball in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebScott Horner, The Indianapolis Star, 18 Mar. 2023
Hayward made one free throw and airballed the second, completing the 11-0 run.
—David Woods, Indianapolis Star, 25 Mar. 2020
Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
Clark even shot an air ball from the left wing, to the delight of the crowd.
—Noah Trister, USA TODAY, 4 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for airball 
Verb
Purdue basketball falls on wrong side of history with loss to 16-seed FDU Reaction:Another Purdue March meltdown: 'What an embarrassment' Closing minute Fletcher Loyer airballs a 3 and Purdue fouls.
—Scott Horner, The Indianapolis Star, 18 Mar. 2023
Hayward made one free throw and airballed the second, completing the 11-0 run.
—David Woods, Indianapolis Star, 25 Mar. 2020
Noun
Adebayo opened 1 for 7, including an air ball on a short jumper.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
Clark even shot an air ball from the left wing, to the delight of the crowd.
—Noah Trister, USA TODAY, 4 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for airball
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'airball.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near airball
Cite this Entry
“Airball.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/airball. Accessed 26 Jul. 2024.
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