basketball

noun

1. (uncountable)A sport in which two opposing teams of five players strive to put a ball through a hoop.

   “to play basketball”

   “He pursued basketball as his career.”

   “Children playing basketball at their home in front of the John Amos coal-fired power plant in Poca, W.Va. President Biden’s infrastructure plan includes climate change measures that aim to close coal-fired plants.”

2. (countable)The particular kind of ball used in the sport of basketball.

verb

1. (informal, intransitive)To play basketball.

   “by high school he was basketballing with the best of an all-Negro league”

2. (informal, transitive)To throw in a similar way to when shooting a basketball.

   “He took a sip from a paper coffee-cup , crumpled it up and basketballed it into a small rubbish bin about five feet from him.”