ping-ponged; ping-ponging; ping-pongs

ping-pong

2 of 3

noun

: something resembling a game of table tennis
especially : a series of usually verbal exchanges between two parties
… a ping-pong of absurdist dialogue … —Lawrence O'Toole
—used for table tennis

Examples of ping-pong 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.
Noun
Combs knows all too well how fickle the general public can be, and how swiftly sympathy can ping-pong from one side to the other. — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 21 Sep. 2026 The rest of the vast space is set up as an arcade, with room for ping-pong, foosball, and air hockey. — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 16 Sep. 2026 On Saturday night, after the show floor closed and everyone was packing up, Fanatics employees watched Djokovic and Mike Tyson playing ping-pong. — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026 The trouble was a bacterial abscess on the child’s neck, swollen, red, warm to the touch, about the size of a ping-pong ball, large enough to force the head into a tilt. — Eric Boodman, STAT, 3 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for ping-pong

Word History

First Known Use

Verb

1902, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1909, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ping-pong was in 1902

Browse Nearby Words

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ping-pong.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ping-pong. Accessed 27 Sep. 2026.

Kids Definition

Ping-Pong

trademark
ˈpiŋ-ˌpäŋ, 
-ˌpȯŋ
—used for table tennis
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!