What does volleyball mean?
Volleyball is both a team sport and the inflated ball used in it. In the sporting sense, it refers to a court game in which two teams send the ball over a net, usually using their hands and arms, with each side trying to score by making the ball land on the opponent's court. The word is also used countably for the ball itself. “Play volleyball” is standard usage, while “a volleyball” normally identifies the object. The sport developed in the United States in the late nineteenth century and is now played recreationally and competitively around the world, including indoor and beach variants. Its name clearly reflects its early mechanics: the ball was struck rather than carried, much as it is in a volley. Volleyball is useful as a vocabulary word because the same form names an activity, its essential piece of equipment, and several recognizable types of play within one familiar term.
nounA team sport in which two teams hit an inflated ball over a net, trying to score by landing it on the opponent's court. The word can also denote the ball used in the sport.
- The team sport played by two opposing sides on opposite sides of a net.
- The inflated ball used in the sport.
"They played volleyball on the beach until the light faded."
"Their school won the regional volleyball championship last year."
"The new regulation volleyball was designed for indoor tournaments."
The plural is used when referring to individual balls; the name of the sport is normally uncountable.
"The coach ordered six new volleyballs for the team."
Volleyball was invented in 1895 by YMCA instructor William G. Morgan, who combined a tennis-like court game with the idea of hitting an airborne ball without catching it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does volleyball come from?
Volleyball was coined in the late nineteenth century by William G. Morgan, who combined “volley” and “ball” to describe a game in which the ball was struck back and forth rather than carried. The word “volley” comes through Old French from Latin volare, “to fly,” while “ball” comes from Old English. Because volleyball was formed as a new English compound, it has no close inherited cognates; volley and ball are its immediate components.
Related word forms
How volleyball is actually used
The sport's name is normally used as an uncountable noun, as in “play volleyball.” When referring to individual balls, the noun is countable and has the plural “volleyballs.” Volleyball is common in both competitive and recreational contexts.
Easily confused with volleyball
A volley is a shot or series of shots, whereas volleyball is the name of the sport and, by extension, the ball used in it.