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volleyball

/ˌvɑliˈbɔl/
/ˈvɒlibɔl/
IPA guide

Other forms: volleyballs

Interested in playing a team sport? Consider volleyball, a game in which players use their arms and hands to hit a ball across a net, trying to keep the ball in the air. Teams score a point when the volleyball hits the floor on their opponent's side.

There are two ways to play volleyball: in a gym and outside in the sand, a style known as beach volleyball. The indoor version requires six players per team, while the beach style has two players per side. Volleyball is a serious sport (it's even played in the Olympics), but you can also play for fun at a picnic or at the beach. Volleyball was invented in the late 1800s, right around the time basketball was first catching on.

Definitions of volleyball
  1. noun
    a game in which two teams hit an inflated ball over a high net using their hands
    synonyms: volleyball game
    see moresee less
    type of:
    court game
    an athletic game played on a court
  2. noun
    an inflated ball used in playing volleyball
    see moresee less
    type of:
    ball
    round object that is hit or thrown or kicked in games
Pronunciation
US
/ˌvɑliˈbɔl/
UK
/ˈvɒlibɔl/
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