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
… 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
especially, US : a baseball game
… Lyons was thrown out trying to steal third to end the ball gameMark Starr
2
informal
a
: a set of circumstances : situation
Driving in Britain is a different ball game.Robert Lacville
… once that blaze surged across the river, it would be a whole new ball game.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

Examples 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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Sales have become an afterthought with adaptation representing the whole ball game. Simon Van Zuylen-Wood, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2024 Not to be outdone, the Guardians and Yankees have also used eight pitchers in a nine inning postseason ball game during the Division Series. Wayne G. McDonnell, Jr., Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024 Castellanos hit a home run in the sixth inning to tie the ball game at 3-3, and then scored the go-ahead run in the eighth that put Philadelphia ahead 6-4. Johannes Sasay-Wada, CNN, 7 Oct. 2024 The Yankees won the American League East division title with a 95-67 record but lost the Division Series in five ball games to the Los Angeles Angels. Wayne G. McDonnell, Jr., Forbes, 15 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ball game 

Word History

First Known Use

1760, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of ball game was in 1760

Dictionary Entries Near ball game

Cite this Entry

“Ball game.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ball%20game. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on ball game

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!