While the word Frisbee is a registered trademark of the Wham-O toy company, the term is often used generically to describe flying discs similar to those made by the company. They are generally plastic, roughly 8 to 10 inches (20-25 cm) in diameter, with a lip. They are designed to fly aerodynamically when thrown with rotation and can be caught by hand.
A wide range of frisbee variants are available commercially. Disc Golf discs are usually smaller but denser and are tailored for particular flight profiles such as stability or distance.
When it was discovered that dogs enjoyed chasing and retrieving the slow-moving discs, special frisbees were designed with more pliable material that would better resist the dog bites. Disc dog competitions, in which dogs' frisbee-catching skills are judged, have become quite popular as well.
Frisbee-like discs shaped like a Saturn's ring, known as aerobies, typically fly significantly farther than traditional frisbees.
