Pétanque (French pronunciation: [petɑ̃k] (listen), locally in Provence [peˈtãᵑkə]; Occitan: petanca, [peˈtaŋkɔ] (listen), also Catalan: [pəˈtaŋkə] or [peˈtaŋka]) is a sport that falls into the category of boules sports, along with raffa, bocce, boule lyonnaise, lawn bowls, and crown green bowling. In all of these sports, players or teams play their boules/balls towards a target ball.

In pétanque the objective is to score points by having boules closer to the target than the opponent after all boules have been thrown. This is achieved by throwing or rolling boules closer to the small target ball, officially called a jack (fr: cochonnet), or by hitting the opponents' boules away from the target, while standing inside a circle with both feet on the ground.

The game is normally and best played on hard dirt or gravel. It can be played in public areas in parks or in dedicated facilities called boulodromes.

The current form of the game was codified in 1907 or 1910 in La Ciotat, in Provence, France. The French name pétanque (borrowed into English, with or without the acute accent) comes from petanca in the Provençal dialect of the Occitan language, deriving from the expression pè tancat [ˈpɛ taŋˈkat], meaning 'foot fixed' or 'foot planted' (on the ground).