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

Now, Blanco is a proud member of Oak Lawn’s drum line, which plays at football and basketball games and school concerts. —Patrick Z. McGavin, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2026

As the portal opened in April, but Medved and women’s basketball coach Dawn Plitzuweit lamented the lack of official transparency in the transfer marketplace. —Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 8 May 2026

The image doesn’t mean the basketball gods have already penciled Dybantsa into Brooklyn’s future. —C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 8 May 2026

That identity – a hard-nosed, gritty style of basketball – was on display in Game 2 of their second-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night. —Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 8 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1891, 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