alley-oop

noun

al·​ley-oop ˌa-lē-ˈyüp How to pronounce alley-oop (audio)
plural alley-oops
1
basketball : a play in which a leaping player catches a pass above the basket and immediately dunks the ball
The meeting of man and ball was dazzling, the two handed alley-oop slam-dunk spectacular.Shelly Smith
also : the usually high, arcing pass thrown on such a play
He threw an alley-oop to George Lynch on a fast break … The New York Times
2
American football : a play in which the quarterback throws a high, arcing pass into the end zone to be caught by a leaping receiver
Quarterback Moore hooked up with receiver Moore on one of their patented alley-oops to make the score 20-7.Austin Murphy
also : the pass itself
… an alley-oop pass to Chandler from Manning gave the Saints a 13-7 lead. Larry McMillen
… he … tossed an alley-oop to Tate Casey for the first touchdown pass of his college career. USA Today
alley-oop verb, transitive + intransitive
alley-ooped; alley-ooping; alley-oops
… they dribbled around us, passed behind their backs, and alley-ooped for a bunch of slam dunks. D. J. MacHale
Rob alley-ooped the ball toward the basket. Stanley Gordon West
On the opening drive of the third quarter, Flacco basically alley-ooped a pass from the 7, and Heap outmuscled safety Tyrone Carter for the ball in the rear right corner of the end zone. Edward Lee

Examples of alley-oop in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Making his first start of the season in place of Aidan Mahaney, Diarra got the game going with an alley-oop to Johnson – a shot the Huskies have struggled to get through their first five games. Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 26 Nov. 2024 And even then, that was an alley-oop score of a transition pass from Tyler Herro. Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 24 Oct. 2024 The Grizzlies were led by star guard Ja Morant (20 points, five assists), who left the game late in the third after coming up limping and calling for a timeout after an errant alley-oop attempt. Khobi Price, Orange County Register, 6 Nov. 2024 And when Green tried to creep over to double team him, Davis found Jaxson Hayes for an alley-oop. Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 15 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for alley-oop 

Word History

Etymology

alteration of allez-oop, cry of a circus acrobat about to leap, probably from French allez, 2nd person plural imperative of aller to go + English -oop, perhaps alteration of up

First Known Use

1965, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of alley-oop was in 1965

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Cite this Entry

“Alley-oop.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alley-oop. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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