Standard Lemma guide

bocce

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: bŏchʹ-i
  • General-American: /ˈbɑt͡ʃi/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: B OW1 CH IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: B OW1 K AH0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A game, similar to bowls or pétanque, played on a long, narrow, dirt-covered court, or informally, as a lawn game.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: hobbies, lifestyle, sports

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

One of the eight balls that the player throws in a game of bocce.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

Topics: hobbies, lifestyle, sports

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Italian bowling played on a long narrow dirt court

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: bocci, boccie

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: bowling

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian bocce.

Across languages

Translations

14 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: botxes — A game similar to bowls or pétanque
  • Chinese Mandarin: 意大利式室外地滾球戲, 意大利式室外地滚球戏 (Yìdàlì shì shìwài dìgǔnqiú xì) — A game similar to bowls or pétanque
  • Chinese Mandarin: 硬地滾球, 硬地滚球 (Yìngdìgǔnqiú) — A game similar to bowls or pétanque
  • Finnish: bocce — A game similar to bowls or pétanque
  • French: bocce — A game similar to bowls or pétanque
  • German: Boccia — A game similar to bowls or pétanque
  • Hungarian: bocsa — A game similar to bowls or pétanque
  • Italian: bocce — A game similar to bowls or pétanque
  • Japanese: スポールブール (supōrubūru) — A game similar to bowls or pétanque
  • Macedonian: боќање (boḱanje) — A game similar to bowls or pétanque
  • Portuguese: bocha — A game similar to bowls or pétanque
  • Russian: бо́чче (bóčče) — A game similar to bowls or pétanque
  • Serbo-Croatian: bȍćānje — A game similar to bowls or pétanque
  • Spanish: bochas — A game similar to bowls or pétanque