Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick or crosse, and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins in indigenous Canada as early as the 17th century. The game was extensively modified by European colonists, reducing the violence, to create its current collegiate and professional form.

Players use the head of the lacrosse stick, usually crafted from hickory trees, to carry, pass, catch, and shoot the ball into the goal.

The sport has four versions that have different sticks, fields, rules, and equipment: field lacrosse, women's lacrosse, box lacrosse, and intercrosse. The men's games, field lacrosse (outdoor), and box lacrosse (indoor) are contact sports and all players wear outer protective gear: helmet, gloves, shoulder pads, and elbow pads.

The women's game is played outdoors and does not allow body contact but does allow stick-to-stick contact. The only outer protective gear required for women players is eye gear, while goalies wear helmets and protective pads. Intercrosse is a mixed-gender non-contact sport played indoors that uses an all-plastic stick and a softer ball.

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