airball
verb
air·ball
| \ ˈer-ˌbȯl
\
\
variants:
or air-ball
Definition of airball
(Entry 1 of 2)
US, basketball
: to completely miss the basket, rim, and backboard with a shot : to shoot an air ball
Fesenko … badly airballed a free throw in the first quarter.— Ross Siler
air ball
nounDefinition of air ball (Entry 2 of 2)
US, basketball
: a shot that completely misses the basket, rim, and backboard
Examples of airball in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Missouri’s most disappointing defeat of the season ended like this: Kassius Robertson hung his head after the buzzer sounded, once Jordan Geist had airballed a three that sealed Missouri’s 90-87 overtime loss to Mississippi on Tuesday. — Aaron Reiss, kansascity, "Mizzou loses to last-place Mississippi in disappointing performance," 20 Feb. 2018 Hill airballed a six-footer in the lane and threw an alley-oop pass to James on a 2-on-1 fast break that stayed in the arena, but that was the best that could be said for it. — Bill Livingston, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Cavaliers look bad dropping opener to Indiana Pacers: Bill Livingston," 15 Apr. 2018 There was no way Nike was letting Antetokounmpo walk out the door after airballing the Stephen Curry situation. — Jarrel Harris, SI.com, "The Sneaker Mailbox: How Much Influence Does Drake Really Have?," 2 Apr. 2018 On the Hawks’ subsequent possession, however, former Magic center Dewayne Dedmon airballed a potential game-tying 3-pointer. — Josh Robbins, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Augustin, Fournier provide boosts as Magic beat Hawks 100-98," 9 Feb. 2018 Jon Axel Gudmundsson had already racked up six points in the final minute, but airballed a three. — Max Meyer, SI.com, "The Five Most Insane Gambling Moments From the First Weekend of the NCAA Tournament," 18 Mar. 2018 Griffin airballed his attempt to retake the lead, but rather than call a timeout, Harden tried to beat the Pistons down the floor, took the ball to the basket and went at Drummond. — Jonathan Feigen, Houston Chronicle, "Rockets overcome sloppy shooting to beat Pistons in overtime," 22 Mar. 2018 Down by 3 with seven seconds left, the Musketeers got an open look for Kerem Kanter, a 6-foot-10 center, who attempted a 3-pointer from the top of the key and airballed. — Zach Schonbrun, New York Times, "N.C.A.A. Men’s Tournament: No. 1 Xavier Falls in Night of Upsets," 18 Mar. 2018 Bol's next try airballed, with Bol leaning his head immediately like a golfer who knows his tee shot is headed for trouble. — Paul Coro, latimes.com, "Remembering Manute Bol and the favorite of many tall tales about him," 10 Mar. 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
In a game filled with air balls, messy defensive scrambles and poor form in boxing out defenders in the paint for rebounds, the Baltimore region team pulled away late and played tough defense to hold on to the lead. — Phil Davis, baltimoresun.com, "Legislative layups: Baltimore dignitaries top Prince George’s, Montgomery foes in charitable basketball game," 26 Aug. 2019 His teammates, however, opened the game a combined 0 of 4 from the field, including an air ball on a 3-point attempt by Draymond Green. — Scott Cacciola, New York Times, "How the Raptors Won Game 3 of the N.B.A. Finals," 5 June 2019 Carr air balled a 3-pointer from the right wing, but Jamari Wheeler grabbed the offensive rebound and kicked it out to Garner, who nailed a corner 3. — USA TODAY, "Garner, Carr help Penn State beat Illinois 74-52," 11 Feb. 2018 To Jay Bilas, the Commission on College Basketball headed by Condoleezza Rice didn’t shoot an air ball. — Blair Kerkhoff, kansascity, "Jay Bilas in KC: Rice Commission 'didn't do anything' | The Kansas City Star," 16 May 2018 Rozier hit a trio of three-pointers in the first quarter but took a heat-check attempt from distance that air balled with fewer than 30 seconds left in the quarter, and the Bucks were able to get back within 2 points at the first break, 24-22. — Jr Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Seven moments to remember from the final game at the BMO Harris Bradley Center," 29 Apr. 2018 Kerem Kanter shot an air ball from beyond the arc at the top of the key with 7 seconds to go for Xavier, and CJ Walker added a pair of free throws with 6.4 seconds remaining. — BostonGlobe.com, "Nevada rallies to beat Cincinnati," 19 Mar. 2018 During the team's prolonged scrimmage, Barrett missed jumper after jumper -- including two air balls -- and got frustrated with himself at times. — Special To The Oregonian, OregonLive.com, "R.J. Barrett: Nation's top player shakes off rust, prepares to put on a show at Nike Hoop Summit," 11 Apr. 2018 Kerem Kanter shot an air ball from beyond the arc at the top of the key with 7 seconds to go for Xavier, and CJ Walker added a pair of free throws with 6.4 seconds remaining. — BostonGlobe.com, "Nevada rallies to beat Cincinnati," 19 Mar. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'airball.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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