Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

volleyball

/ˈvɒlibɔ(ː)l/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.85 in modern English

Syllables
vol-ley-ball
IPA
/ˈvɒlibɔ(ː)l/
18
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A game played on a rectangular court between two teams of two to six players which involves striking a ball back and forth over a net.

Uncountable

noun

The inflated ball used in such a game.

Countable

Etymology

Etymology tree English volley Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-der. Proto-Germanic *balluz Old English *beall Middle English bal English ball English volleyball From volley + ball. In 1895, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, William G. Morgan created a new game called Mintonette, a name derived from the game of badminton. After an observer, Alfred Halstead, noticed the volleying nature of the game at its first exhibition match in 1896, played at the International YMCA Training School (now called Springfield College), the game quickly became known as volleyball (it was originally spelled as two words: "volley ball")

Word Breakdown

Usage

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Sports.

Inflected Forms

volleyballs (plural) volley-ball (alternative) bolleyball (alternative, humorous)

Derived Forms

volleyballene volleyballer volleybelle wallyball

Phrases

beach volleyball indoor volleyball kick volleyball rebound volleyball sand volleyball sitting volleyball volleyball player

Synonyms

volleyball game volley ball

Questions

How do you pronounce volleyball?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈvɒlibɔ(ː)l/.
What does volleyball mean?
A game played on a rectangular court between two teams of two to six players which involves striking a ball back and forth over a net.
Where does volleyball come from?
Etymology tree English volley Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-der. Proto-Germanic *balluz Old English *beall Middle English bal English ball English volleyball From volley + ball. In 1895, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, William G. Morgan created a new game called Mintonette, a name derived from the game of badminton. After an observer, Alfred Halstead, noticed the volleying nature of the game at its first exhibition match in 1896, played at the International YMCA Training School (now called Springfield College), the game quickly became known as volleyball (it was originally spelled as two words: "volley ball")

How to pronounce volleyball

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “volleyball”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈvɒlibɔ(ː)l/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “volleyball”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “volleyball” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.