ballpark figure

Idioms  

1. 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]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ballpark figure

When we asked Yatai how much money they made they would not tell us – not even a ballpark figure.

From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2025

Asked how much money he’s raised, Foster intimated that a ballpark figure would become evident as players started to trickle in through the transfer portal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2024

An accountant exasperatingly asks for a ballpark figure, and Escola’s Bernadette, wiggling like a charmed snake with their hands on their hips, asks, “Is this a ballpark figure?”

From New York Times ● Feb. 27, 2024

The ballpark figure for building a 300-bed hospital in Japan in $55 million.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 6, 2021

But I suspect their ballpark figure might even be too low; they arrived at it by taking the old IRS estimate, and adjusting it for income growth and inflation.

From Slate ● Jan. 8, 2020