What does volleying mean?
Volleying means striking or returning a ball while it remains in the air, most commonly in tennis or a similar racket sport. A player who volleys acts quickly, meeting the opponent’s shot before it can bounce and redirecting it without the extended preparation required for a groundstroke. The verb can also describe a rapid exchange of words: reporters may volley questions at a spokesperson, or participants may volley arguments across a debate. In these figurative uses, “volleying” suggests quick, successive challenges rather than a measured conversation. The word has a military heritage, originally referring to the simultaneous discharge of arrows or gunfire, but its best-known modern application is in tennis. It is useful because it captures both speed and return: something is not merely sent or received, but driven back with immediacy and often precision.
verbTo strike or return a ball while it is still in the air, especially in tennis. By extension, it means to exchange questions, remarks, insults, or ideas rapidly.
- To strike or return a ball before it touches the ground, especially in tennis.
- To exchange questions, remarks, insults, or ideas rapidly.
"She kept volleying the ball over the net, anticipating every return."
"He leaned forward and volleyed the return into the opposite court."
"The delegates volleyed questions and objections throughout the meeting."
“Volley” originally referred to a flight of arrows or gunfire; its modern tennis sense preserves the idea of sending something through the air.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does volleying come from?
The English word “volley” comes from French volley, borrowed from a Medieval Latin form derived from Latin volare, “to fly.” The term entered English in the late 16th century for a flight of arrows or a simultaneous discharge of gunfire. It later extended to tennis and, more recently, to rapid exchanges of remarks and questions.
Related word forms
How volleying is actually used
In sport, “volley” is standard terminology for hitting the ball before it bounces. Its use for a rapid exchange of remarks or questions is more literary than everyday speech, while the older sense of firing weapons simultaneously is now largely historical.