Netball
//ˈnɛtbɔːl// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A (usually women's) team sport derived from basketball, with seven players on each side who attempt to score goals by passing a ball and throwing it into the opponent's goal, which is a raised hoop with a net at one end of the playing area. Unlike basketball, a player in possession of the ball cannot move until the ball is passed to another player. uncountable
"Some excellent photographs are taken of [...] members of the athletic club, "net-ball," "foot-ball," etc., [...]"
- 2 a team game that resembles basketball; a soccer ball is to be thrown so that it passes through a ring on the top of a post wordnet
- 3 The ball used in this sport. countable
"Over the years he had stitched Dr. Bailey's black bag, Paul's pram hood, the net balls at the village school, and saddles and bridles for Joan and Ruth when they were small, and kept in trim the footwear that passed and repassed his window as the various owners went about their business on Thrush Green."
Example
More examples"In netball, unlike basketball, you are not permitted to run with the ball."
Etymology
From net + ball.
More for "netball"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.