handball

UK: /ˈhændbɔːl/ US: /ˈhændˌbɔl/ ,(hand′bôl′)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

hand•ball /ˈhændˌbɔl/   n. 

1. Sport [uncountable] a game played by two or four persons who strike a ball against a wall or walls with the hand.
2. Sport [countable] the small, hard rubber ball used in this game.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

hand•ball  (hand′bôl′), n. 

1. Sport a game, similar to squash, played by two or four persons who strike a small ball against a wall or walls with the hand.
2. Sport the small, hard rubber ball used in this game.

• late Middle English handballe. See hand, ball¹ 1400–50

hand′ball′er, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

handball / ˈhændˌbɔːl/ noun

1. a game in which two teams of seven players try to throw a ball into their opponent's goal
2. a game in which two or four people strike a ball against a wall or walls with the hand, usually gloved
3. the offence committed when a player other than a goalkeeper in his or her own penalty area touches the ball with a hand

verb

1. to pass (the ball) with a blow of the fist