croquet

noun

cro·​quet krō-ˈkā 

1

: a game in which players using mallets drive wooden balls through a series of wickets set out on a lawn

2

: the act of driving away an opponent's croquet ball by striking one's own ball placed against it

croquet transitive verb

Examples of croquet in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Its roots date back to an 18th-century single-player form of billiards called bagatelle designed to give bored French nobility something to do when the croquet lawn was too soggy for the delicate heels of their buckle shoes. —Tim Stevens, Ars Technica, 6 Jan. 2025

The long list of activities on property includes golf, swimming, biking, horseback riding, bocce ball, croquet, and tennis. —Dobrina Zhekova, Travel + Leisure, 5 May 2024

Pack your best tennis whites for a round of croquet. —Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 16 Dec. 2024

Buy Now: $165 Clif Family 2019 Croquet Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain Napa Valley This single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon comes from the Clif Family’s Croquet Vineyard named for the professional croquet court on the property. —Mike Desimone and Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 5 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

probably ultimately from obsolete French, sharp blow, from croquer

First Known Use

1855, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

croquet

noun

cro·​quet krō-ˈkā 

: a game in which the players use mallets to drive wooden balls through a series of wickets set out on a lawn