handball

Handball has more than one common meaning. Most often, it means *team handball, a fast sport in which players pass, dribble, and throw a ball to score goals. In soccer, a "handball" is when a player touches the ball with the hand or arm in a way that breaks the rules. In some places, especially in the U.S. and Ireland, it can also mean a wall game* in which players hit a small ball against a wall with their hands.

Handball can refer to several sports or to a rule break in another sport. The best-known meaning worldwide is *team handball*, an Olympic game in which two teams of seven players try to throw a ball into the other team's goal. Players run, pass, dribble, and jump as they attack and defend, and the game moves very quickly.

The word is also used for *ball-and-wall games such as American handball and Gaelic handball, where players hit a small ball against a wall with their hands. In soccer*, "handball" means a foul or offense in which a player handles the ball illegally. So the exact meaning depends on context: it may describe a full team sport, a wall game played with the hands, or a soccer foul.