jai alai

[ hahy-lahy, hahyuh-lahy, hahyuh-lahy ]

/ ˈhaɪ ˌlaɪ, ˈhaɪ əˌlaɪ, ˌhaɪ əˈlaɪ /

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noun

a game resembling handball, played on a three-walled court between two, four, or six players who are equipped with a long, curved wicker basket, or cesta, strapped to the wrist for catching and throwing a small, hard ball against the front wall.

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Compare cancha, fronton.

Origin of jai alai

1905–10; <Spanish <Basque, equivalent to jai game + alai merry

Words nearby jai alai

Jahveh, Jahvism, Jahvist, Jahwism, jai, jai alai, Jai Hind, jail, jailbait, jailbird, jailbreak

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use jai alai in a sentence

Sometimes a little jai alai in the living room with ripe guavas for balls and live pelicans for baskets.
Mel Brooks Is Always Funny and Often Wise in This 1975 Playboy Interview|Alex Belth|February 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Little boys are most interested in games with balls, like jai alai or football.
Getting to know Spain|Dee Day

British Dictionary definitions for jai alai

jai alai

/ (ˈhaɪ ˈlaɪ, ˈhaɪ əˌlaɪ, ˌhaɪ əˈlaɪ) /

noun

a version of pelota played by two or four players

Word Origin for jai alai

via Spanish from Basque, from jai game, festival + alai merry

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012