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ball1

Syllabification: (ball)
Pronunciation: /bôl/

Translate ball | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of ball

noun

  • 1a solid or hollow sphere or ovoid, especially one that is kicked, thrown, or hit in a game:a soccer ball
  • a ball-shaped object:a ball of wool he crushed the card into a ball
  • historical a solid nonexplosive missile for a firearm.
  • a game played with a ball, especially baseball:kids have been playing ball in that lot for almost a hundred years
  • 2 Baseball a pitch delivered outside the strike zone that the batter does not attempt to hit:the umpire called it a ball
  • Sports a pass of a ball from one player to another:Whelan sent a long ball to Goddard
  • 3 (in full the ball of the foot) the rounded protuberant part of the foot at the base of the big toe.
  • (in full the ball of the thumb) the rounded protuberant part of the hand at the base of the thumb.
  • 4 (balls) vulgar slang testicles.
  • courage or nerve.
  • nonsense; rubbish (often said to express strong disagreement).

verb

[with object]
  • 1 (usually ball up) squeeze or form (something) into a rounded shape:Robert balled up his napkin and threw it onto his plate
  • clench or screw up (one’s fist) tightly:she balled her fist so that the nails dug into her palms
  • [no object] form a round shape:the fishing nets eventually ball up and sink
  • wrap the rootball of (a tree or shrub) in burlap to protect it during transportation.
  • 2 vulgar slang have sexual intercourse with.

Phrases

balled up

  • 1entangled; confused:I got slightly balled up in my facts

the ball is in your court

it is up to you to make the next move.

a ball of fire

a person full of energy and enthusiasm.

keep the ball rolling

maintain the momentum of an activity.

keep one's eye on (or take one's eye off) the ball

keep (or fail to keep) one’s attention focused on the matter in hand.

on the ball

alert to new ideas, methods, and trends:maintaining contact with customers keeps me on the ball
indicating competence, alertness, or intelligence:a woman like that, with so much on the ball

play ball

play a ball game such as baseball:we noticed some youngsters playing ball in a vacant lot
informal work willingly with others; cooperate:if his lawyers won’t play ball, there’s nothing we can do
Baseball the umpire’s command to begin or resume play.

start (or get or set) the ball rolling

set an activity in motion; make a start:to start the ball rolling, the government was asked to contribute a million dollars to the fund

the whole ball of wax

informal everything.

Phrasal Verbs

ball (British balls) something up

bungle something.

Origin:

Middle English: from Old Norse bǫllr, of Germanic origin

ball in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of ball in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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