ball game
noun
variants
or ballgame
plural ball games or ballgames
1
: a game played with a ball
We have to take care of the basketball. If you don't have the basketball it's hard to win a ball game.—
LaToya Bennett, quoted in The Huntsville (Texas) Item
LaToya Bennett, quoted in The Huntsville (Texas) Item… returned a punt for a touchdown in the first half of the football game to help Georgia earn their first points of the ball game.—Jonathan Williams
Jonathan Williams
especially, US
: a baseball game
… Lyons was thrown out trying to steal third to end the ball game … —Mark Starr
Mark Starr 2
informal
a
: a set of circumstances : situation
Driving in Britain is a different ball game.—Robert Lacville
Robert Lacville… once that blaze surged across the river, it would be a whole new ball game.—Jeffrey J. Smith
Jeffrey J. Smith
b
: contest sense 1
… on Mar. 17, the candidates must stagger to high-stakes caucuses in Michigan, Mississippi, South Carolina, Arkansas, and Kentucky. The ball game could be over by Mar. 20 …—Business Week
Business WeekExamples of ball game in a Sentence
He was popular because he was good at ball games.
Dad took us to a ball game.
watching a ball game on TV
Recent Examples on the Web
The mass-participation ball game involves two teams, whose players are decided according to which side of the town's small brook they were born on.
—Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 7 Mar. 2025
Known as a fierce competitor, Butler is a two-way player willing to sacrifice points to win ball games.
—Mark Lasota, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
Remember last summer when Perez crashed a neighborhood Wiffle ball game and that story went viral?
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 6 Mar. 2025
Rohit’s reflexes are not as sharp and his cameos at the top are getting shorter after a traumatic time in the red-ball game.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ball game
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Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 7 Mar. 2025
Known as a fierce competitor, Butler is a two-way player willing to sacrifice points to win ball games.
—Mark Lasota, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
Remember last summer when Perez crashed a neighborhood Wiffle ball game and that story went viral?
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 6 Mar. 2025
Rohit’s reflexes are not as sharp and his cameos at the top are getting shorter after a traumatic time in the red-ball game.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ball game
Cite this Entry
“Ball game.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ball%20game. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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