noun

• 1A seven-a-side game in which goals are scored by throwing a ball so that it falls through a netted hoop. By contrast with basketball, a player receiving the ball must stand still until they have passed it to another player.

  ‘Like with the game we were playing then, it was helping us with throwing and passing, like in a game of basketball or netball.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘I know that I enjoyed tennis, badminton, table tennis, squash, netball, basket ball and occasionally hockey.’
  • ‘Rugby aside, when it comes to football, rugby league, netball, basketball or cricket, New Zealand is invariably the underdog.’
  • ‘The school will use the money to fund an Astroturf pitch for five-a-side football, hockey, basketball, netball and other sports.’
  • ‘Students are able to compete in a number of sports, including football, netball, basketball, cricket and hockey.’
  • ‘Athletes will compete in track and field, volleyball, football, netball and basketball.’
  • ‘We are still playing indoor sports like netball, basketball and cricket, but people now seem more content these days to just go to the gym.’
  • ‘The programme will include sporting disciplines such as basketball, netball, cricket and football, among others.’
  • ‘Emma, who attends Oakwood High School in Chorlton, also plays football, netball and basketball, but has always put squash first.’
  • ‘The Zambia team will compete in several events among them volleyball netball, table tennis and swimming.’
  • ‘The number of pupils taking part in other traditional activities such as hockey, football and netball has also fallen in the past decade.’
  • ‘It will mean we'll be able to extend our facilities for hockey, football, netball and basketball.’
  • ‘Basildon Council offers courses in a range of sports, including football, netball, athletics, cricket, rugby and tennis.’
  • ‘I was a lot happier when we player hockey and netball (even though I hated them).’
  • ‘A wide range of sports are offered at the school including football, tennis, netball, athletics, gym and swimming.’
  • ‘The Tarmac area provides floodlit all weather courts for netball, basketball, hockey, soccer and other sports.’
  • ‘Basketball, netball and volleyball seem to engender less of the problem.’
  • ‘She's studying for her A-levels, also dances, plays basketball and netball, and does athletics.’
  • ‘Teams from the three resorts competed in netball, volleyball, football, basketball, cricket and track and field.’
  • ‘New court markings will allow sporty students to play basketball, netball and football indoors.’

  1. 1.1count noun The ball used in netball.
     ‘Mitre provided £35,000 worth of footballs, rugby balls, basketballs, netballs and volleyballs in another initiative that saw hundreds of schools across the region benefit.’
     More example sentences

     • ‘Each week different sports balls were given away - footballs, rugby balls, basketballs, netballs and volleyballs.’
     • ‘I run away from netballs, swerve to avoid hockey sticks, grind to a halt in the sack race.’
     • ‘The Eastern Cape leg of the Rally to Read delivered R16000 worth of books in lockable bookcases, plus other teaching material, educational games, soccer balls and netballs to each of 13 rural schools around Centane at the weekend.’
     • ‘This is a long way from Liz Ellis who has a netball, ‘The Gripper’, named after her.’
     • ‘Clinic participants also will have the opportunity to win a netball signed by members of the Sandpipers team.’
     • ‘She first picked up a netball at Poppleton Road Junior School in 1955 and has been hooked on the game ever since.’