box lacrosse

noun

: a form of lacrosse that is played by six-player teams usually indoors in an ice hockey rink with a wooden floor in place of the ice

Box lacrosse contains elements of ice hockey and basketball—and more than a passing resemblance to gang warfare with tire irons. It is played in a hockey rink—on wood rather than ice—with six men to a side. There is more scoring than in hockey (thanks to a rule requiring a shot on goal every 30 seconds) as well as picks, fast breaks and other techniques borrowed from basketball.

—Peter Bonventre, Newsweek, 25 Aug. 1975

Box lacrosse is played in an iceless rink. The boards are left up, and the game is extremely physical.

—Austin Murphy, Sports Illustrated, 25 Jan. 1988

called also indoor lacrosse

Word History

First Known Use

1932, in the meaning defined above

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