Meanings
- uncountableThe jargon associated with the sport of basketball.
During the long, dreary, wet winter I amused myself by watching college and Pro basketball on the idiot box. Will one of you basketball-savvy gardeners please tell me what RPI stands for in basketballese?
2003 March 31, Bill Litchfield, “Basketball Fans”, in rec.gardens (Usenet)1 more example
Detroit bounced back nicely with a 65-50 victory over Connecticut. The Shock never trailed in this one, and led by as many as 25. Fast break points were a key, as was the Shock's scoring production “in the paint,” as the area close to the basket is known in basketballese.
2006, Vince Prygoski, Worst to First: Or a ‘Shock’ing Tale of Women's Basketball in Motown, Denver, CO: Outskirts Press, →ISBN, page 53
Origin
Cite this entry
basketballese. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/basketballese
“basketballese.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/basketballese. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “basketballese,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/basketballese.
Source: basketballese on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.