Glove
A hand covering worn for protection, grip or catching, taking very different forms across boxing, goalkeeping, baseball, cricket and cycling.
Definition
A glove is a hand covering used in sport for protection, improved grip or catching the ball, and its design is highly sport-specific. A boxing glove is a heavily padded mitt, a goalkeeper's glove combines a grippy palm with finger protection, and a baseball glove is a large leather mitt shaped to catch and hold the ball.
Other sports use gloves in their own way: cricket batters and wicketkeepers wear padded gloves, cyclists wear fingerless mitts for grip and comfort, and golfers wear a thin glove to steady the grip. In each case the glove is matched to the demands of the sport rather than being a single universal item.
Meaning by sport
This term is used differently across sports:
- Boxing
- A heavily padded mitt worn to cushion both the wearer's hand and the opponent on impact.
- Football
- A goalkeeper's glove with a grippy palm and finger protection for catching and punching the ball.
- Baseball
- A large leather glove or mitt shaped to catch and secure the ball when fielding.
- Cricket
- Padded gloves protecting the hands of the batter and wicketkeeper.
Where you’ll hear “glove”
Sports that use this term:
Football
The world’s most popular team sport — endless running, teamwork and community in one game.
Baseball
A bat-and-ball team sport where two sides alternate between batting and fielding to score runs.
Cycling
A low-impact endurance sport that doubles as transport, exercise and adventure.
Boxing
A striking combat sport built on footwork, timing and conditioning, practised from fitness drills to controlled sparring.
Cricket
A bat-and-ball team sport where sides take turns to bat and to bowl and field, scoring runs.
Golf
A precision target sport played across an outdoor course, blending skill, strategy and a long walk in the open air.
Explore across the knowledge base
Follow the threads that connect Glove to the rest of SocialSportHub.
Beginner guides
- Spending Wisely as a BeginnerYou rarely need to buy much to start a new sport, because borrowing, hiring, taster sessions and a little patience let you learn what genuinely matters before you spend.
- Your First Padel SessionA warm, honest look at what your very first padel session actually involves — the doubles court, the walls, and the easygoing rallying that makes it so welcoming to newcomers.
Equipment
- Boxing glovesPadded gloves worn to cover the hands when punching in boxing and striking sports.
- Bike helmetA hard-shelled head covering worn while cycling and riding bikes.
- Cricket batA flat-fronted wooden bat used by batters to hit the ball in cricket.
- Shin guardsProtective pads worn over the shins in football and other field sports.
- MouthguardA moulded guard worn over the teeth in contact and combat sports.
Skills
- CatchingThe skill of cleanly securing a ball travelling through the air or off the ground.
- ThrowingThe skill of propelling the ball accurately and with control using the arm.
- Bike handlingThe skill of balancing, steering and controlling a bike confidently in different conditions.
- ReboundingThe basketball skill of gaining the ball after a missed shot.
- PedallingThe skill of turning the pedals smoothly and at an efficient rhythm on a bike.
Techniques
- One-Handed BackhandA backhand groundstroke struck with a single hand on the grip, driving through the ball with a full extension of the hitting arm.
- Standing ClimbA cycling technique for climbing out of the saddle, standing on the pedals to add power on steep gradients.
- Cycling CadenceThe technique of pedalling at a smooth, steady rhythm and choosing a gear that keeps the legs turning efficiently.
- Volleyball SetAn overhead pass using the fingertips of both hands to place the ball accurately for a teammate to attack.
- Crossover DribbleA basketball dribbling move that switches the ball quickly from one hand to the other to change direction and get past a defender.
Disciplines
- Track CyclingTrack cycling is racing on a velodrome, an oval banked track, using fixed-gear bikes with no brakes across sprint and endurance events.
- SnatchThe snatch is one of the two Olympic weightlifting lifts, taking the barbell from the platform to overhead in one continuous movement.
- KataKata is the solo karate discipline of performing set sequences of blocks, strikes, kicks, and stances against imagined opponents.
- Gravel CyclingGravel cycling is riding and racing on unpaved roads and mixed surfaces on a drop-bar bike, often over long distances and self-supported.
- Individual medleyThe individual medley (IM) combines all four strokes in a set order — butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, then freestyle — testing all-round swimming across a single event.