alley-oop
noun
al·ley-oop
ˌa-lē-ˈyüp 
plural alley-oops
1
basketball
: a play in which a leaping player catches a pass above the basket and immediately dunks the ball
The meeting of man and ball was dazzling, the two handed alley-oop slam-dunk spectacular.—
Shelly Smith
Shelly Smith
also
: the usually high, arcing pass thrown on such a play
He threw an alley-oop to George Lynch on a fast break … —The New York Times
The New York Times 2
American football
: a play in which the quarterback throws a high, arcing pass into the end zone to be caught by a leaping receiver
Quarterback Moore hooked up with receiver Moore on one of their patented alley-oops to make the score 20-7.—Austin Murphy
Austin Murphy
also
: the pass itself
… an alley-oop pass to Chandler from Manning gave the Saints a 13-7 lead. —Larry McMillen
Larry McMillen … he … tossed an alley-oop to Tate Casey for the first touchdown pass of his college career. —USA Today
USA Today
alley-oop
verb, transitive + intransitive
alley-ooped; alley-ooping; alley-oops
… they dribbled around us, passed behind their backs, and alley-ooped for a bunch of slam dunks.
—D. J. MacHale
D. J. MacHale
Rob alley-ooped the ball toward the basket.
—Stanley Gordon West
Stanley Gordon West
On the opening drive of the third quarter, Flacco basically alley-ooped a pass from the 7, and Heap outmuscled safety Tyrone Carter for the ball in the rear right corner of the end zone.
—Edward Lee
Edward Lee
Examples of alley-oop in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Rozier missed a jumper and reverse layup and threw an errant alley-oop to Ware in his four scoreless minutes.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 30 Mar. 2025
Two alley-oops, one a no-look to Khaman Maluach, the other to Kon Knueppel.
—Eddie Pells, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Mar. 2025
Even after fifth-year senior small forward Jordan Geronimo ended Maryland’s drought with an emphatic alley-oop dunk, Colorado State ran off another eight points for a 22-10 advantage with 10:29 remaining.
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 24 Mar. 2025
Garland chided Mitchell on an alley-oop attempt that Mitchell and Allen both aborted and ended up with a turnover charged to Garland.
—Tony Jones, The Athletic, 24 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for alley-oop
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Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 30 Mar. 2025
Two alley-oops, one a no-look to Khaman Maluach, the other to Kon Knueppel.
—Eddie Pells, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Mar. 2025
Even after fifth-year senior small forward Jordan Geronimo ended Maryland’s drought with an emphatic alley-oop dunk, Colorado State ran off another eight points for a 22-10 advantage with 10:29 remaining.
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 24 Mar. 2025
Garland chided Mitchell on an alley-oop attempt that Mitchell and Allen both aborted and ended up with a turnover charged to Garland.
—Tony Jones, The Athletic, 24 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for alley-oop
Cite this Entry
“Alley-oop.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alley-oop. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.
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