- a ball game invented by Native Americans, now played by two teams who try to propel a ball into each other's goal by means of long-handled hooked sticks that are loosely strung with a kind of netted pouch
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
la•crosse /ləˈkrɔs, -ˈkrɑs/USA pronunciation
n. [uncountable]
- Sporta game in which two 10-member teams attempt to send a small ball into each other's netted goal, each player carrying a stick at the end of which is a netted pocket for catching, carrying, or throwing the ball.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
lacrosse /ləˈkrɒs/ n
La Crosse
(lə krôs′, kros′),USA pronunciation
la•crosse (lə krôs′, -kros′),USA pronunciation n.
- Place Namesa city in W Wisconsin, on the Mississippi River. 48,347.
la•crosse (lə krôs′, -kros′),USA pronunciation n.
- Sporta game, originated by Indians of North America, in which two 10-member teams attempt to send a small ball into each other's netted goal, each player being equipped with a crosse or stick at the end of which is a netted pocket for catching, carrying, or throwing the ball.
- Canadian French: literally, the crook (stick used in the game). See crosse
- 1710–20, American.
'lacrosse' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
crosse
- hurling
- baggataway
- box lacrosse
- cover point
- defenseman
- goalkeeper
- goalmouth
- home
- La Crosse
- net
- third man
- stickhandler
- stickhandling
- stickwork