ball

[ bawl ]

/ bɔl /

noun

a spherical or approximately spherical body or shape; sphere: He rolled the piece of paper into a ball.

a round or roundish body, of various sizes and materials, either hollow or solid, for use in games, as baseball, football, tennis, or golf.

a game played with a ball, especially baseball: The boys are out playing ball.

Baseball. a pitched ball, not swung at by the batter, that does not pass over home plate between the batter's shoulders and knees.

Military.

a solid, usually spherical projectile for a cannon, rifle, pistol, etc., as distinguished from a shell.
projectiles, especially bullets, collectively.

any part of a thing, especially of the human body, that is rounded or protuberant: the ball of the thumb.

a round mass of food, as of chopped meat, dough, or candy.

Slang: Vulgar. a testis.

balls, Slang: Vulgar.

boldness; courage; brashness.
nonsense (often used as an interjection).

bolus(def 1).

Horticulture. a compact mass of soil covering the roots of an uprooted tree or other plant.

Literary. a planetary or celestial body, especially the earth.

Mathematics. (in a metric space) the set of points whose distance from the zero element is less than, or less than or equal to, a specified number.

verb (used with object)

to make into a ball (sometimes followed by up): The children were balling up snow to make a snowman.

to wind into balls: to ball cotton.

Slang: Vulgar. to have sexual intercourse with.

verb (used without object)

to form or gather into a ball: When the spun sugar balls, the candy has cooked sufficiently.

Slang: Vulgar. to have sexual intercourse.

Verb Phrases

ball up, Slang. to make or become utterly confused; muddle: The records had been all balled up by inefficient file clerks.

Idioms for ball

ball the jack, Slang.

to act with speed.
to stake everything on one attempt.

carry the ball, to assume the responsibility; bear the burden: You can always count on him to carry the ball in an emergency.

drop the ball, to make a mistake or miss an opportunity at a critical moment.

keep the ball rolling, to continue or give renewed vigor to an activity already under way: When their interest lagged, he tried to keep the ball rolling.

on the ball,

alert and efficient or effective: If you don't get on the ball, you'll be fired.
indicating intelligence or ability: The tests show your students don't have much on the ball. The new manager has a lot on the ball.

play ball,

to begin or continue playing a game.
to start or continue any action.
to work together; cooperate: union leaders suspected of playing ball with racketeers.

run with the ball, to assume responsibility or work enthusiastically: If management approves the concept, we'll run with the ball.

start the ball rolling, to put into operation; begin: The recreation director started the ball rolling by having all the participants introduce themselves.

Origin of ball

1175–1225; Middle English bal, balle < Old French < Germanic *ballaz; compare Old Norse bǫllr, Old High German bal, ballo, balla, German Ball, Dutch bal; perhaps akin to Latin follis leather bag; see ballock(s)

OTHER WORDS FROM ball

ball·er, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH ball

bald balled bawled

Words nearby ball

balkh, balkhash, balkis, balkline, balky, ball, ball ammunition, ball and chain, ball and ring, ball bearing, ball boy

Definition for ball (2 of 3)

ball ²

[ bawl ]

/ bɔl /

noun

a large, usually lavish, formal party featuring social dancing and sometimes given for a particular purpose, as to introduce debutantes or benefit a charitable organization.

Informal. a thoroughly good time: Have a ball on your vacation!

Origin of ball

1625–35; < French bal, noun derivative of baler (now baller) to dance < Late Latin ballāre < Greek (Magna Graecia) ballízein to dance

Definition for ball (3 of 3)

Ball

[ bawl ]

/ bɔl /

noun

George W(ild·man) [wahyld-muh n] /ˈwaɪld mən/,1909–1994, U.S. lawyer, investment banker, and government official.

John,died 1381, English priest: one of the leaders of Wat Tyler's peasants' revolt in 1381.

Lucille,1911–89, U.S. actress.

Example sentences from the Web for ball

One of the kids had a ball in his hand, and Cuomo took it and tossed it back and forth to an eight year old.

Mario Cuomo, Always Moving Us Toward the Light |Mike Barnicle |January 4, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
Instead of going for the hole, I hit the ball directly into the water.

Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art |Alec Kubas-Meyer |January 2, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
If the ball gets in the hole, the screen shifts to reveal the next hole.

Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art |Alec Kubas-Meyer |January 2, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
An arrow appears indicating the direction you will launch your ball.

Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art |Alec Kubas-Meyer |January 2, 2015 |DAILY BEAST

If the ball goes off the screen, it teleports back to the starting position.

Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art |Alec Kubas-Meyer |January 2, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
But it was too late: the finger had pulled the trigger and the ball sped true.

To Leeward |F. Marion Crawford
An Army man tackled me on their 25-yard line, after I had taken the ball down the field for nearly a touchdown.

Football Days |William H. Edwards
A brisk trade was soon opened; the articles in greatest request being powder and ball.

Narrative of an Expedition to the Shores of the Arctic Sea in 1846 and 1847 |John Rae
Mr. Brandon raised his hand, and a ball of bunting at the topmast fluttered out into the Cross of St. George.

Daughters of the Revolution and Their Times |Charles Carleton Coffin
After the dance had continued about an hour, the two ladies, who were apprehensive of catching cold, moved to break up the ball.

The Vicar of Wakefield |Oliver Goldsmith

British Dictionary definitions for ball (1 of 3)

ball ¹

/ (bɔːl) /

noun

a spherical or nearly spherical body or mass a ball of wool

a round or roundish body, either solid or hollow, of a size and composition suitable for any of various games: football, golf, billiards, etc

a ball propelled in a particular way in a sport a high ball

any of various rudimentary games with a ball to play ball

cricket a single delivery of the ball by the bowler to the batsman

baseball a single delivery of the ball by a pitcher outside certain limits and not swung at by the batter

a solid nonexplosive projectile for a firearmCompare shell (def. 6)
such projectiles collectively

any more or less rounded part or protuberance the ball of the foot

slang a testicle See balls

vet science another word for bolus

horticulture the hard mass of roots and earth removed with the rest of the plant during transplanting

ball of muscle Australian a very strong, fit, or forceful person

have the ball at one's feet to have the chance of doing something

keep the ball rolling to maintain the progress of a project, plan, etc

on the ball informal alert; informed

play ball informal to cooperate

set the ball rolling or start the ball rolling to open or initiate (an action, discussion, movement, etc)

the ball is in your court you are obliged to make the next move

verb

(tr) to make, form, wind, etc, into a ball or balls to ball wool

(intr) to gather into a ball or balls

taboo, slang, mainly US to copulate (with)

Word Origin for ball

C13: from Old Norse böllr; related to Old High German balla, Italian palla French balle

usage for ball

Sense 9 of this word was formerly considered to be taboo, and it was labelled as such in previous editions of Collins English Dictionary . However, it has now become acceptable in speech, although some older or more conservative people may object to its use

British Dictionary definitions for ball (2 of 3)

ball ²

/ (bɔːl) /

noun

a social function for dancing, esp one that is lavish or formal

informal a very enjoyable time (esp in the phrase have a ball)

Word Origin for ball

C17: from French bal (n), from Old French baller (vb), from Late Latin ballāre to dance, from Greek ballizein

British Dictionary definitions for ball (3 of 3)

Ball

/ (bɔːl) /

noun

John . died 1381, English priest: executed as one of the leaders of the Peasants' Revolt (1381)

Medical definitions for ball

ball

[ bôl ]

n.

A spherical object or mass.

A bezoar.

A large pill or bolus.

Idioms and Phrases with ball

ball

In addition to the idioms beginning with ball

ball and chain
ball of fire
ball up

also see:

behind the eight ball
break one's balls
by the balls
carry the ball
crystal ball
drop the ball
eyeball to eyeball
get the ball rolling
have a ball
have one's eye on the ball
have someone by the balls
on the ball
play ball
put in mothballs
snowball's chance in hell
that's how the ball bounces
whole ball of wax

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