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Handball
noun, verb, slang
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A team sport where two teams of seven players each (six players and a goalkeeper) pass and bounce a ball trying to throw it in the goal of the opposing team. uncountable
- 2 a game played in a walled court or against a single wall by two or four players who strike a rubber ball with their hands wordnet
- 3 The medium-sized inflated ball used in this sport. countable
- 4 a small rubber ball used in playing the game of handball wordnet
- 5 The offence of a player other than the goalkeeper touching the ball with the hand or arm on the field during play. countable
"It was a dramatic finish to an absorbing, fast-paced game but Blackburn will be deeply unhappy with referee Anthony Taylor as Nzonzi's handball was harsh."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A sport in which players alternately strike the ball against a wall with their hand. Irish and American variants have slightly different rules. Ireland, US, uncountable
- 7 The small rubber ball used in this sport. US, countable
- 8 An act of passing a football by holding it with one hand and hitting it with the other. countable
- 9 A schoolyard game in which a tennis ball is struck with the hand, played on an improvised court on the asphalt or pavement. Australia, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To manually load or unload a container, trailer, or to otherwise manually move bulk goods (often on pallets) from one type of transport receptacle to another. transitive
- 2 To illegally touch the ball with the hand or arm.
"If the defender handballs in the penalty area, a penalty is awarded."
- 3 To (legally) pass a football by holding it with one hand and hitting it with the other.
"Meanwhile, you can introduce the basic concept of Aussie rules through a game like lineball, a lead-up game introduced in the basketball section of chapter 10, but with the ball handballed, not thrown."
- 4 To insert a hand into someone's anus. slang
Etymology
Etymology 1
From hand + ball.
Etymology 2
From hand + ball.
See also for "handball"
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