n
(chiefly Scotland) A courtyard behind a housing block or tenement building.
n
(sports) A person, usually male, responsible for retrieving balls from the area of play, and returning them to the players.
n
(sports) A female responsible for getting the balls from off the area of play to the players.
n
(sports) In team ball games, a player who is particularly good at catching or getting possession of the ball.
n
(sports) A youth responsible for getting the balls from off the area of play to the players.
n
(sports) An act of catching or obtaining possession of the ball in a skillful manner; the action of a ball hawk.
n
(sports) A player who handles the ball skilfully
n
(tennis) The line at the farthest ends of the court indicating the boundary of the area of play.
n
(soccer) a variant of soccer played on a smaller-sized sand pitch.
n
(basketball) One or more free throws awarded to a team when the opposing team has accumulated enough fouls.
n
(field hockey) A method of starting or restarting a game whereby two opposing players face off with the ball between them, clash sticks three times, and then attempt to be first to the ball.
n
(basketball) The violation that occurs when a player places the palm of his hand under the ball while dribbling. As long as a player's hand is on top of the ball, he can dribble it above his shoulder.
n
(netball) A player who can go all over the court, except the shooting circles.
n
(uncountable, basketball) An offensive foul in which the player with the ball moves into a stationary defender.
n
In the sport of Quidditch or Muggle quidditch, a player responsible for passing the quaffle and scoring goals with it.
v
(ball games, especially soccer) to control a high ball with the chest (for example, in order to shoot, dribble, or pass it)
n
(soccer) A shot in which the ball is kicked from underneath with accuracy but with less than maximum force, to launch it high into the air in order either to pass it over the heads of opponents or to score a goal.
n
(basketball) A successful shot that, despite a foul, is made with a single continuous motion beginning before the foul, and that is therefore valid in certain forms of basketball.
n
(lacrosse) A penalty where a player hits another player with the shaft of their lacrosse stick with their hands spread apart.
n
(soccer) A pass or a shot of the ball which swerves.
n
(squash) A line on the front wall, above which the ball must hit for a serve
n
(cricket) A ball that moves sideways in the air, or off the pitch, because it has been cut.
v
(transitive, ball games) To touch the ball, often unwittingly, after a shot or a sharp pass, thereby making it unpredictable for the other players.
n
(volleyball) A defensive pass of the ball that has been attacked by the opposing team.
n
(basketball) Part of a basketball court located at the intersection of the free-throw line and the free-throw lane.
n
(rugby) A goal scored where a ball that is in play but on the ground is kicked through the uprights and over the crossbar.
n
(basketball) A rule that a player who throws in the ball from out of bounds must get rid of it in less than five seconds.
n
(dated) Alternative spelling of football [(general) A sport played on foot in which teams attempt to get a ball into a goal or zone defended by the other team.]
n
(basketball) The small forward or power forward position; two frontcourt positions that are taller than guards but shorter than centers.
n
(sports) A breach of the rules of a game, especially one involving inappropriate contact with an opposing player in order to gain an advantage; for example, tripping someone up in soccer, or contact of any kind in basketball.
n
(basketball) A line from which a player takes a free throw
v
(basketball) To be disqualified from further play for having committed too many fouls.
n
(basketball) The situation of a player who has committed enough fouls to be almost at the point of fouling out and disqualification.
n
(hurling) The usual means of restarting play after a foul is committed, where the non-offending team restarts from where the foul was committed.
n
(water polo) A throw taken without interference from the opposition. Such a throw is generally taken after an infringement by the opposing team.
n
(basketball) A statistic computed by dividing a player or team's made free throws by the total number of free throws he or it attempted.
n
(basketball) The rectangular or trapezoidal area between the free-throw line and the end line.
n
(basketball) The center and forwards of a team
n
(netball) A player allowed in the goal third including the shooting circle.
n
(netball) One of two thirds of a netball court nearest the goal ring.
v
(basketball) To engage in goaltending, interference with the ball on its downward path to the basket
n
(basketball) A relatively short player, playing farther from the basket than a forward or centre.
n
(basketball) A turnover occurring when the team with possession, having brought the ball over the half-court line causes it to cross back over the line without interference from the other team.
n
Alternative spelling of half volley [(sports) A stroke, in ball sports, in which the ball is hit immediately after it bounces off the ground]
n
(countable, soccer) The offence of a player other than the goalkeeper touching the ball with the hand or arm on the field during play.
n
(tennis) The side of the court into which the ball is served.
n
(sports, field hockey) A penalty shot, awarded when the ball is deemed to have been sent out of play deliberately.
n
(Britain) A field hockey player.
n
(pinball) A rubber pad that propels the ball away upon impact, like a bumper, but usually a horizontal side of a wall.
n
(water polo) A penalty for holding or sinking the driver
n
(soccer) A mistimed attempt to take the ball of an opposing player that results in the tackler making contact with the player and not the ball
n
(sports) The area near the center of a court, such as a basketball or tennis court
n
A simplified form of rugby, with a smaller ball and pitch, designed to introduce the sport to children.
n
Alternative form of mini rugby [A simplified form of rugby, with a smaller ball and pitch, designed to introduce the sport to children.]
n
(basketball, informal) An offensive foul committed when a player executing a screen moves in order to block the defender and makes contact. Technically it is a block; in other words, there is no such terminology in most rulebooks using the phrase "moving screen." This means that, for it to be a foul, there must be contact (and illegal contact at that, meaning advantage-conveying). No illegal contact, no foul, no matter how much moving the screener does.
n
(basketball) A double foul shot, where the first shot must succeed in order to get the second shot.
adj
(sports) Executed immediately after touching the ball, without holding it
n
(UK, soccer, slang) The goal net.
n
Alternative form of Panenka [(soccer) A softly-struck chipped penalty kick into the middle of the goal.]
v
(sports) To behave in a manner that results in a foul.
n
(handball) A circle runner.
n
(basketball) A guard who is usually the shortest of the five basketball positions, and specializes in handling the ball, distributing it to the other players and generally running the team's offense.
n
(basketball) The process of posting up.
n
(basketball) A forward who is the taller of the two forward positions, and is often responsible for scoring near the basket, collecting rebounds and blocking shots in defense.
n
(hurling, camogie) A penalty shot.
v
(intransitive, basketball) to commit a foul by pushing against an opponent to both accelerate more quickly and push the opponent in the opposite direction.
n
(basketball) A move in which a player scores a basket immediately after securing an offensive rebound
n
(basketball) A passing style in which the ballhandler performs a crossover step in the direction of the intended pass and then extends his or her arms to throw the pass around the defender.
n
(sports) The strike of the ball after it has bounced off a defending player or the crossbar or goalpost.
v
(basketball) To block a shot, especially if it sends the ball off the court.
v
(tennis) To bat the ball back over the net in response to a serve.
n
(basketball) A dunk in which the player's back is to the basket when the ball is dunked.
v
(transitive, basketball) To miss a basket by bouncing the ball off of around the rim.
n
(sports, by extension) an outside agent that affects the movement of the ball.
n
A contest in games in which the ball is thrown or bounced in the air and two players from opposing teams attempt to give their team an advantage, typically by tapping the ball to a teammate.
n
(uncountable) The sport of rugby: either rugby league or rugby union.
n
(soccer) A tackle where one player slides in and wraps their legs either side of an opponent's legs.
n
(sports, soccer, golf) A powerful shot.
n
(volleyball) Action done by the serving team to prevent the opposing team from seeing the server and the flight path of the ball.
n
(neologism, soccer) In soccer, a move where the player bounces the ball on their head while running at the opponent.
n
Alternative form of set shot [(Australian rules football) A kick for goal after a free kick has been awarded to the kicker and play has stopped.]
n
(sports) A shot that either scores a goal or that would score if not for an obstruction by a defending player.
n
(sports) The act of being sent to the sin bin, for illegal play
n
(bowls) The captain of a bowls team, who directs the team's tactics and rolls the side's last wood, so as to be able to retrieve a difficult situation if necessary.
n
(basketball) A forward who is the shorter of the two forward positions, and often plays behind the power forwards.
n
(soccer) A hard shot without much planning.
n
(volleyball) One who spikes.
n
(Gaelic football, hurling) A foul where a player on the attacking team enters the opposing team's small square inside the penalty area before the ball does.
n
(basketball, ice hockey) A situation in which a defensive player actively takes possession of the ball or puck from the opponent's team.
n
(soccer) Someone who assists (sets up) a goal.
n
(basketball) A technical foul.
n
(basketball) An arc on the floor of a basketball court beyond which a successful shot is worth three points.
n
(basketball) Three point shots.
n
(soccer) An action where the goalkeeper deflects the ball over the crossbar.
n
(field hockey) A field hockey shot style that involves a player turning their hockey stick upside-down and swinging it so that its inside edge will come into contact with the ball.
n
(Australian rules football, informal) A torpedo punt.
n
(basketball) A violation committed by progressing while holding the ball instead of dribbling it.
n
(field hockey) At hockey, a foul committed by a player attempting to hit the ball who interposes their body between the ball and an opposing player trying to do the same.
n
(basketball) A player who takes a lot of shots.
n
(netball) A player allowed in the centre third and goal third, but not the shooting circle.
n
(basketball, American football) A defensive scheme where defenders guard a particular area of the court or field, as opposed to a particular opposing player.
Note: Concept clusters like the one above are an experimental OneLook
feature. We've grouped words and phrases into thousands of clusters
based on a statistical analysis of how they are used in writing. Some
of the words and concepts may be vulgar or offensive. The names of the
clusters were written automatically and may not precisely describe
every word within the cluster; furthermore, the clusters may be
missing some entries that you'd normally associate with their
names. Click on a word to look it up on OneLook.
Our daily word games Threepeat and Compound Your Joy are going strong. Bookmark and enjoy!
Today's secret word is 7 letters and means "Origin or beginning of something." Can you find it?