From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
basketball
n 1: a game played on a court by two opposing teams of 5 players;
points are scored by throwing the basketball through an
elevated horizontal hoop [syn: basketball game,
hoops]
2: an inflated ball used in playing basketball
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Basketball \Bas"ket*ball`\, n.
1. A ball game, usually played indoors in an area called the
basketball court, in which two opposing teams of five
players each contest with each other to toss a large
inflated ball (the basketball) into opposite goals
(baskets) resembling baskets, each typically a cylindrical
mesh suspended from a circular rim which is held ten feet
above the court. A goal scored by passing the basketball
through the basket may count from one to three points,
depending on the situation in which it was thrown.
Syn: basketball game.
[Webster 1913 Suppl. WordNet 1.5 +PJC]
2. The inflatable ball used in the game of basketball.
[PJC]