What does croqueting mean?
Croqueting is the present participle of the verb 'to croquet', a term drawn from the lawn game of the same name. In croquet, a player who has struck their own ball so that it touches an opponent's ball earns the right to place the two balls together and then strike them again, sending the opponent's ball wherever the player wishes — this second stroke is called a croquet, and performing it is croqueting. The move is one of the game's defining tactical devices, allowing skilled players to position both balls advantageously while driving a rival's ball away from its intended path. Because it arises within the rules rather than through accident, croqueting is a deliberate, calculated act rather than a mere collision. Outside croquet circles the word is seldom encountered, giving it a distinctly sporting, slightly old-fashioned flavour that recalls Victorian garden parties, where the game first became fashionable in Britain in the mid-nineteenth century.
verbIn croquet, to strike one's own ball so that it hits an opponent's ball while both balls are in contact, sending the opponent's ball away; the action of making such a stroke.
- To strike an opponent's ball with one's own after placing them in contact, as permitted by the rules of croquet.
- (Rare, extended use) To hit or send something forcefully, in imitation of the croquet stroke.
"She won the match by carefully croqueting her opponent's ball into the boundary ditch."
"After roqueting his opponent's ball, he spent several minutes deliberating before croqueting it toward the peg."
"The champion was renowned for the precision with which she went about croqueting, always sending the rival ball exactly where she wanted it."
The word comes from the French for 'hook' — yet it names the most aggressive move in a famously genteel garden game: deliberately smashing your opponent's ball across the lawn.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of croqueting
Croqueting derives from 'croquet', which entered English from French around the mid-nineteenth century when the game became fashionable in Britain. The French word 'croquet' means 'little hook', a diminutive of 'croche' or 'croc' (hook), possibly referring originally to the curved stick used in early versions of the game. The same French root gives English 'crochet', 'crotchet', and 'encroach', all ultimately evoking the idea of a hook.
Related word forms
How croqueting is actually used
Croqueting belongs almost entirely to the specialized vocabulary of croquet players and is rare outside descriptions of the game. The verb is regular (croqueted, croqueting), though some players informally say simply 'take croquet'. It carries no figurative or emotional connotations in general usage.
Easily confused with croqueting
A croquette is a small fried roll of minced food, whereas croqueting is the act of striking a ball in the game of croquet.
Croquet is the lawn game itself (or the noun for the stroke), while croqueting is the present participle describing performing that stroke.