hockey

/ˈhɑki/

/ˈhɒki/

Other forms: hockeys

Hockey is short for ice hockey or field hockey, but it usually refers to ice hockey, the sport where people skate on ice and use big hockey sticks to whack a puck into a goal.

For ice hockey, players wear protective gear and helmets. A flat puck is knocked across the ice with long, paddle-shaped sticks. Field hockey is similar, though there is less contact between players, and a ball, instead of a puck, is smacked with sticks. The origin of hockey is slightly unclear, although it may stem from the Middle French hoquet, "shepherd's staff," which resembles a hockey stick.

Definitions of hockey

1. noun

   a game played on an ice rink by two opposing teams of six skaters each who try to knock a flat round puck into the opponents' goal with angled sticks
   synonyms: hockey game, ice hockey

   type of:

   contact sport

   a sport that necessarily involves body contact between opposing players

   athletic game

   a game involving athletic activity
2. noun

   a game resembling ice hockey that is played on an open field; two opposing teams use curved sticks try to drive a ball into the opponents' net
   synonyms: field hockey

   types:

   shinney, shinny

   a simple version of hockey played by children on the streets (or on ice or on a field) using a ball or can as the puck

   type of:

   field game

   an outdoor game played on a field of specified dimensions