language note: The form billiard is used as a modifier.
1. uncountable noun
Billiards is a game played on a large table, in which you use a long stick called a cue to hit balls against each other or into pockets around the sides of the table.
[British]regional note: in AM, use pocket billiards, pool
2. uncountable noun
Billiards is a game played on a large table, in which you use a long stick called a cue tohit balls against each other or against the walls around the sides of the table.
[US]
billiards in British English
(ˈbɪljədz)
noun(functioning as singular)
1.
any of various games in which long cues are used to drive balls now made of composition or plastic. It is played on a rectangular table covered with a smooth tight-fitting cloth and having raised cushioned edges
2.
a version of this, played on a rectangular table having six pockets let into the corners and the two longer sides. Points are scored by striking one of three balls with the cue to contact the other two or one of the two
Compare pool2 (sense 5), snooker
Word origin
C16: from Old French billard curved stick, from Old French bille log; see billet2
billiards in American English
(ˈbɪljərdz)
noun
1.
a game played with three hard balls on a rectangular table covered with cloth, esp. baize, and having raised, cushionededges: a long, tapering stick (called a cue) is used to hit and move the balls
2.
any of a number of similar games
pool is sometimes called pocket billiards
Word origin
Fr billard, the game; orig., a stick, cue < OFr bille: see billet2
Examples of 'billiards' in a sentence
billiards
The piano and the billiards table have been painstakingly restored.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Warm sunshine and a surface on which you could have played billiards.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Just let me google how you play billiards.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Added to this improbable mix is a duet for two men playing billiards.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
This was more than a mere adjustment, more than a casual game of pocket billiards.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
A billiards table covered with a sheet serves as a staging area for small items to be moved.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
There could be no reason why he should not play at billiards, but he was determined not to bet.
George Eliot Middlemarch (1872)
They skied and played Russian billiards.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
What's a game at billiards?
George Eliot Middlemarch (1872)
The younger crowd sat at the end of the room furthest from the billiards table, where they could smoke without being noticed.
Jonathan Gregson BLOOD AGAINST THE SNOWS: The Tragic Story of Nepal's Royal Dynasty (2002)
He taught young ladies to play billiards on a wet day, or went in for the game in serious earnest when required.
Elizabeth Gaskell Wives and Daughters (1864)
I'd like to play a few more games at billiards with him.
William Thackeray Vanity Fair (1837)
There's also a games room with billiards table and the celeb must-haves of a gym and cinema.
The Sun (2015)
Like the bar billiards table, I would guess.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Word lists with
billiards
ball game, Other sports
In other languages
billiards
British English: billiards /ˈbɪljədz/ NOUN
Billiards is a game played on a large table, in which you use a long stick called a cue to hit small heavy balls against each other or into pockets around the sides of the table.