ball

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈbȯl 

often attributive

1

: a round or roundish body or mass: such as

a

: a spherical or ovoid body used in a game or sport

a tennis ball

—used figuratively in phrases like the ball is in your court to indicate who has the responsibility or opportunity for further action

b

: earth, globe

c

: a spherical or conical projectile

also : projectiles used in firearms

d

: a roundish protuberant anatomical structure (as near the tip of a human finger or toe or at the base of a thumb)

especially : the part of the sole of the human foot between the toes and arch on which the main weight of the body rests in normal walking

2

a

usually vulgar : testis

b balls plural

(1)

often vulgar : nonsense

—often used interjectionally

(2)

often vulgar : nerve sense 3

3

: a game in which a ball is thrown, kicked, or struck

also : quality of play in such a game

4

a

: a pitch not swung at by the batter that fails to pass through the strike zone

b

: a hit or thrown ball in various games

foul ball

ball

2 of 3

verb

balled; balling

transitive verb

1

: to form or gather into a ball

balled the paper into a wad

2

usually vulgar : to have sexual intercourse with

intransitive verb

1

: to form or gather into a ball

2

usually vulgar : to engage in sexual intercourse

3

US, informal : to play basketball

Common shot all his own scenes on the hardwood, balling against NBA superstars Dwyane Wade and Dwight Howard.

—Chris Richards

ball

3 of 3

noun (2)

1

: a large formal gathering for social dancing

2

: a very pleasant experience : a good time

everyone had a ball at the wedding

Phrases

on the ball

1

: competent, knowledgeable, alert

the other introductory essay … is much more on the ball

—The Times Literary Supplement (London)

keep on the ball

2

: of ability or competence

if the teacher has something on the ball, the pupils won't squirm much

—New Yorker

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• globe
• orb
• sphere

Verb

• agglomerate
• roll
• round
• wad

Noun (2)

• cotillion
• cotillon
• dance
• formal
• hop
• prom

Examples of ball in a Sentence

Noun (1)

the little rubber ball used in racquetball

a ball of string

found a cache of musket balls while excavating the old fort

Verb

I stood up quickly and balled my hands into fists.

He balled the letter in his hands and threw it in the trash.

Noun (2)

a ball to celebrate the inauguration

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Also among the items being smashed flat are balls that look like emojis and an Angry Birds statue. —Kimberly Nordyke, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 May 2024

Struggling to juggle it all, young mothers aren’t looking to have another ball, or child thrown into their hands. —Chloe Berger, Fortune, 9 May 2024

The insurance situation seemed to put the ball in motion on Strip’s closing last week, but Johnson recounted a few other unseemly details for good measure. —David Hudnall, Kansas City Star, 8 May 2024

Travis Jankowski followed with another ground ball single to drive in a run, with the fourth run of the inning scoring on a passed ball by catcher Kyle McCann. —Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 8 May 2024

The premise is simple: Participants play a virtual game of ball toss with (supposedly) two or more other players. —Anna Borges, SELF, 8 May 2024

Wong’s parents had fled poverty — at one point, his father used tennis balls as flotation devices to illicitly cross waters from Guangzhou into Hong Kong — in order to raise a family in a more opportune land. —Amy X. Wang, New York Times, 7 May 2024

As the ball landed in the gap, Glasnow turned and growled in frustration. —Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 27 Apr. 2024

Prior to 2023, though, Brooks didn’t see much of the ball. —Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 27 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English bal, probably from Old English *beall; akin to Old English bealluc testis, Old High German balla ball, Old Norse bǫllr, Old English blāwan to blow — more at blow

Noun (2)

borrowed from French bal, going back to Old French, "dance, social gathering for dancing," noun derivative of baler, baller "to dance," going back to Late Latin ballāre, probably borrowed, with truncation of suffix, from Greek ballízein "to throw, fling," later, "to take part in revelry, make merry," from bállein "to throw, let fly, place" + -izein -ize — more at devil entry 1

Note: The Greek verb ballízein has ancient attestation solely in two Sicilian authors of mimes, Epicharmus and Sophron (5th-early 4th centuries B.C.), and the comic poet Alexis (late 3rd-2nd centuries B.C.). Their work survives only in fragments. The word most likely means "to throw, fling" in these texts, an interpretation that appears to be confirmed by the Latin word ballista, "military engine designed to hurl projectiles" (see ballista), which is taken as a loan from unattested Greek *ballistā́s or *ballistḗs. The base of this noun, formed with the agent suffix -tēs/-tās, would be an underlying verb *ballid-, whence the present stem balliz- in ballízein. (Compare baptízein "to baptize" : baptistḗs baptist and scores of other derivatives.) The verb ballízein reappears in the Deipnosophistae ("Learned Banqueters") of Athenaeus of Naucratis (early 3rd century A.D.) as the subject of a discussion of its authenticity as Greek; it is taken as a synonym of kōmázein "to take part in communal revelry, make merry," or choreúein "to celebrate with dancing." Presumably some undocumented shift of senses has taken place, perhaps from "hurl, fling" to "move off rapidly, rush off" to "move about, go round" to "make merry, take part in celebratory revelry" to "dance." The latter sense would be the germ of Late Latin ballāre, which first appears in a sermon of Augustine of Hippo. For Augustine and later Church Fathers the activity denoted by the verb, whether dancing in a strict sense or more general revelry, is not suitable for Christians, perhaps due to pagan associations. See H. Paessens, "Das Verhältnis von βαλλίζω, βάλλω und ballare," Rheinisches Museum für Philologie, Neue Folge, 90. Band, 2. Heft (1941), pp. 146-56.

First Known Use

Noun (1)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1577, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (2)

1605, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing ball

• air ball
• ball and chain
• ball-and-socket joint
• ball bearing
• ball boy
• ball cock
• ball control
• ball field
• ball-flower
• ball game
• ball girl
• ball gown
• ball handler
• ball joint
• ball lightning
• ball mill
• ball of fire
• ball of wax
• ball-peen hammer
• ball up
• ball valve
• batted ball
• b-ball
• beach ball
• behind the eight ball
• best-ball
• breaking ball
• carry the ball
• cotton ball
• cotton wool ball
• crystal ball
• cue ball
• drop the ball
• eight ball
• fair ball
• fly ball
• foul ball
• four-ball
• game ball
• get/set/start the ball rolling
• golf ball
• gopher ball
• ground ball
• hair ball
• have a ball
• jump ball
• keep one's eye on the ball
• keep the ball rolling
• long ball
• matzo ball
• medicine ball
• object ball
• on the ball
• passed ball
• play ball
• root ball
• small ball
• sour ball
• stress ball
• T-ball
• tea ball
• tee ball
• the ball is in one's court
• the belle of the ball
• three-ball
• touch down the ball
• touch the ball down
• wrecking ball

Kids Definition

ball

1 of 3 noun

ˈbȯl 

1

a

: something round or roundish

a ball of twine

b

: a usually round object used in a game or sport

c

: a usually round shot for a firearm

d

: the rounded bulge at the base of the thumb

also : the rounded wide part of the bottom of the human foot between the toes and arch

2

: a game or sport (as baseball) played with a ball

play ball

3

: a pitched baseball that fails to pass through the strike zone and is not struck at by the batter

ball

2 of 3 verb

: to make or come together into a ball

ball

3 of 3 noun

: a large formal party for dancing

Etymology

Noun

Middle English bal "ball"

Noun

from French bal "a dance," derived from Latin ballare "to dance" — related to ballet

Medical Definition

ball

1 of 2 noun

ˈbȯl 

: a round or roundish body or mass: as

a

: a roundish protuberant part of the body: as

(1)

: the rounded eminence by which the base of the thumb is continuous with the palm of the hand

(2)

: the rounded broad part of the sole of the human foot between toes and arch and on which the main weight of the body first rests in normal walking

(3)

: the padded rounded underside of a human finger or toe near the tip

b

: eyeball

c

often vulgar : testis

d

: a large pill (as one used in veterinary medicine) : bolus

ball

2 of 2 transitive verb

: to give a medicinal ball to (as a horse)

Biographical Definition

Ball 1 of 2

biographical name (1)

ˈbȯl 

John died 1381 English priest and social agitator

Ball

2 of 2

biographical name (2)

Lucille (Désirée) 1911–1989 American actress and comedienne