ces·ta (s?s?t?)n. A scoop-shaped wicker basket that is worn over the hand and used to catch and throw the ball in jai alai.[Spanish, basket, from Latin cista, chest; see chest.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.cesta (?s?st?) n(in jai alai) the long basket used to throw and catch the ballCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014jai a?lai (?ha? ?la?, ?ha? ??la?, ?ha? ??la?) n. a game resembling handball, played on a three-walled court by two, four, or six players who use a long, curved wicker basket (cesta) strapped to the wrist to catch and throw a small, hard ball against the front wall.Compare fronton. [1905?10;