basketball

noun

bas·​ket·​ball ˈba-skit-ˌbȯl 

often attributive

: a usually indoor court game between two teams of usually five players each who score by tossing an inflated ball through a raised goal

also : the ball used in this game

Examples of basketball in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Former Kansas one-and-done men’s basketball guard Darryn Peterson scored three points on 1-of-5 shooting with six rebounds, two assists, one steal and two turnovers Sunday in his first NBA preseason game as a member of the Utah Jazz. — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 5 Oct. 2026

The new corporate structure will join together the two sports operations that have shared rights to the NCAA’s March Madness college basketball tournament since 2010. — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 5 Oct. 2026

A certain professional basketball outfit is knee deep in a best-of-five series of its own. — Ken Sugiura, AJC.com, 5 Oct. 2026

The merger means that the NCAA March Madness college basketball championship will be under a single company’s oversight for the first time in years. — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 5 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing basketball

• fantasy football/baseball/basketball

Rhymes for basketball

• aerosol
• alcohol
• arbitral
• butanol
• cannonball
• carbinol
• cortisol
• ethanol
• fireball
• gasohol
• gossypol
• guaiacol

Kids Definition

basketball

noun

bas·​ket·​ball -ˌbȯl 

: a court game in which each of two teams tries to toss an inflated ball through a raised goal

also : the ball used in this game