stickball

American  

[stik-bawl] / ˈstɪkˌbɔl /

noun

1. a form of baseball played in the streets, on playgrounds, etc., in which a rubber ball and a broomstick or the like are used in place of a baseball and bat.

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Other Word Forms

• stickballer
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of stickball

An Americanism dating back to 1815–25; (broom)stick + ball ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stickball

While neighborhood boys carried on with their stickball games in the streets of the Bronx, Mr. Kriegel embarked on a two-year stay at the New York State Reconstruction Home.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 12, 2022

The red-haired boy spent summer days playing stickball in the streets and collecting empty soda bottles, returning them for refunds so he could buy a 55-cent ticket to the Polo Grounds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2022

This is what people used to do when they played stickball and out in the front yard.

From New York Times ● Mar. 18, 2022

Or those stickball games with kids in Harlem not far from the old Polo Grounds.

From Seattle Times ● May 5, 2021

We were playing stickball on 122nd Street, and a foul ball went up on the flat roof over the church vestibule.

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers

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