1. An openwork fabric made of threads or cords that are woven or knotted together at regular intervals.
2. Something made of openwork fabric, especially:
   1. A device for capturing birds, fish, or insects.
   2. A barrier against flying insects.
   3. A mesh for holding the hair in place.
   4. Something that entraps; a snare.
   5. A fine mesh fabric used as curtain or dress material or as the foundation for various laces.
3. Sports.
   1. A barrier of meshwork cord or rope strung between two posts to divide a court in half, as in tennis and badminton.
   2. A ball that is hit into this meshwork barrier.
   3. The goal in soccer, hockey, and lacrosse.
   4. The cord meshwork attached to the hoop of a basket in basketball.
4. A meshed network of lines, figures, or fibers.
5. A radio, television, or telephone network.
6. Computer Science. See network (sense ).

1. To catch or ensnare in or as if in a net.
2. To cover, protect, or surround with or as if with a net.
3. Sports. To hit (a ball) into the net.
4. To make into a net.

[Middle English, from Old English.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.