a game played on a court by two opposing teams of 5 players; points are scored by throwing the ball through an elevated horizontal hoop
"The team celebrated loudly after their player sank the winning shot to secure victory in the basketball game."
an inflated ball used in playing basketball
"He dribbled the deflated basketball until it finally bounced high enough to shoot over the rim."
A sport in which two opposing teams of five players strive to put a ball through a hoop.
"The team practiced hard every day so they could score more points by shooting the basketball through the hoop during the game."
In plain English: Basketball is a game where two teams try to throw a ball through each other's hoop while trying to stop the other team from doing the same.
"The children played basketball in the park every afternoon."
Usage: Basketball refers to both the game played with teams shooting a ball into hoops and the round leather object used in that sport. Use this word when describing the athletic activity itself or identifying the specific equipment required to play it.
To play basketball
"We spent the afternoon playing basketball at the local park until sunset."
In plain English: To play basketball as a verb means to throw the ball into the hoop to score points.
"The player decided to basketball over the net instead of passing the ball."
Usage: Use "basketball" as a verb to describe the act of playing the game, such as when you say, "We decided to basketball after work." Although grammatically possible, this usage is informal and less common than using it strictly as a noun.
The word basketball is a straightforward combination of the words basket and ball. It was first used to describe the game invented by James Naismith in which players throw a ball into an elevated hoop.