: a court game somewhat like handball played usually by two or four players with a ball and a long curved wicker basket strapped to the wrist

Examples of jai alai in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Grievance of the week Coaching matters in football more than in any other sport — basketball, baseball, pickleball, jai alai, whatever. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 9 Sep. 2023 An arrangement with the sports-betting website BetRivers allows wagering on jai alai matches in seven states, providing potential new revenue for the casino, which has yet to turn a profit on jai alai. Arian Campo-Flores, WSJ, 30 Mar. 2022 For about 70 years, the South Florida sporting public has been entertained by jai alai that allowed legalized gambling with thousands of fans cheering on the action. Emmett Hall, Sun Sentinel, 20 Oct. 2022 But there the similarity between jai alai and the gallopers ends — in jai alai the participants go at top speed all the way, and if horses could be counted upon to do the same, there’d be no trouble at all in trying to pick winners. Merrie Monteagudo, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Feb. 2022 Its departure will leave jai alai with an uncertain future in South Florida, 97 years since Florida’s first jai alai fronton opened in Miami in 1924. Ron Hurtibise, sun-sentinel.com, 14 Sep. 2021 One of the agents found to be liable for the miscarriage of justice was implicated years later in the murder by Bulger and his gang of the Roger Wheeler, the president of World Jai Alai, which operated pari-mutuel jai alai frontons in Hartford and Florida. Edmund H. Mahony, courant.com, 23 Mar. 2021 Bulger - had penetrated the sport of jai alai. Edmund H. Mahony, courant.com, 23 Mar. 2021 Poker, slot machines, blackjack, roulette and that sport particular to South Florida, jai alai, is all at the casino. Rod Stafford Hagwood, sun-sentinel.com, 6 Aug. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'jai alai.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Spanish, from Basque, from jai festival + alai merry

First Known Use

1901, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of jai alai was in 1901

Dictionary Entries Near jai alai

Cite this Entry

“Jai alai.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jai%20alai. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

: a court game somewhat like handball played usually by two or four players using a ball and a long curved basket strapped to the wrist

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