basketball

[bas-kit-bawl, bah-skit-] / ˈbæs kɪtˌbɔl, ˈbɑ skɪt- /

NOUN

team sport

Synonyms

STRONGEST

ball

STRONG

hoops

WEAK

B-ball brownball

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

To play basketball you need only a ball and a basket.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026

After playing college basketball at San Jose State and then Gonzaga, he was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder and traded to the Grizzlies soon after.

From BBC • May 12, 2026

I’ll question why the Lakers would invest so heavily on an aging, oft-injured star whose game is predicated on athleticism and not the out-of-this-world basketball IQ like 41-year-old LeBron.

From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026

A season-long team-up would be a basketball purist’s dream—even if it also seems about as strange as Magic Johnson slipping into Celtics green.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 10, 2026

Michael didn’t really play basketball, but there was a secret part of him that suspected he might be good at it.

From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly