pingpong table
- noun
- /ˈpɪŋˌpɔŋ ˈteɪbəl/
- We bought a new pingpong table yesterday.
Examples
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We need to clear the pingpong table before dinner guests arrive.
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He set up the pingpong table in the garage to practice his serve.
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The children spent the afternoon playing doubles on the pingpong table.
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Is there a pingpong table in the gym?
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The children gathered around the pingpong table to play a fun game of table tennis.
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During the party, we set up a pingpong table in the backyard for everyone to enjoy.
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He practiced his serves and backhands at the pingpong table in the sports center.
Synonyms
A table for playing table tennis with a net in the middle
A flat rectangular table with a net used to play table tennis
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
pingpong + table
The compound is a straightforward noun–noun composition: the name of the game 'ping-pong' (pingpong) plus 'table' denotes a table for playing that game. This purpose-denoting pattern is cross-linguistically common and easily inferred by a B1 learner who knows the constituent words or recognizes the game name, so the meaning is transparently derived from its parts.
Etymology
Pingpong table is named after the sound of the game: the ball makes quick ping and pong noises when it hits the paddle and the table, so people began calling the sport 'ping-pong' and the playing surface the pingpong table. That's why today pingpong table means a table for 'table tennis'.