Definition of "croquet" [cro•quet]

• An outdoor game in which the players drive wooden balls through a series of wickets using long-handled mallets. (noun)
• The act of driving away an opponent's croquet ball by hitting one's own ball when the two are in contact. (noun)
• To drive away (an opponent's croquet ball) by hitting one's own ball when the two are in contact. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "-- for dominoes is about as mild and sinless a game as any in the world, perhaps, excepting always the ineffably insipid diversion they call croquet, which is a game where you don't pocket any balls and don't carom on any thing of any consequence, and when you are done nobody has to pay, and there are no refreshments to saw off, and, consequently, there isn't any satisfaction whatever about it"
• "But Catalano, who came wearing earrings with balls the colors used in croquet, was not ready to give up the traditional game."
• "Having said that, it should be noted that black_samvara has clothing on (or should that be off?) all of the players - croquet is definitely her game."