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# basketball

noun (basketball; a basketball, basketballs)

«basketball» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Basketball is a team game where players bounce the ball and try to throw it through a high hoop with a net. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/basketball/#m1)
2. A basketball is the large orange ball used in the game. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/basketball/#m2)

### In the lessons

In PE lessons pupils learn to dribble, pass and shoot. A team has five players on court. Scoring: a basket inside the line is 2 points, from far outside the arc 3 points, a free throw 1 point. Basketball was invented by James Naismith, a Canadian teacher working in the USA. Phrases: play basketball, basketball court, basketball hoop, shoot hoops.

### Examples

- We play basketball in PE. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/basketball/#x1)
- He bounced the basketball down the court. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/basketball/#x2)
- Each team has five players on the court. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/basketball/#x3)
- She scored a basket from far away for three points. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/basketball/#x4)
- The basketball hoop is very high. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/basketball/#x5)
- Can I borrow your basketball? [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/basketball/#x6)
- Our team won the basketball match. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/basketball/#x7)
- Tall players are good at basketball. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/basketball/#x8)

### Note

One word. The game is uncountable (play basketball, no «a»); the ball is countable (a basketball). Maths: count points — 2 for a normal basket, 3 from beyond the three-point line, 1 for each free throw. You must bounce (dribble) the ball while you walk; running with it is not allowed.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «basketball» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/basketball/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«basketball» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/basketball.html) on Mova free.