ballpark figure

Idioms and Phrases

An acceptable, roughly accurate approximation, as in I know you can't tell me the exact cost; just give me a ballpark figure . This term alludes to a baseball field, which is always an enclosed space. The expression is basically an extension of the somewhat earlier in the ballpark , meaning within a reasonable range, and out of the ballpark , beyond a reasonable range. [ Slang ; late 1960s]