baseball

American  

[beys-bawl] / ˈbeɪsˌbɔl /

noun

baseballs plural

1. a game of ball between two nine-player teams played usually for nine innings on a field that has as a focal point a diamond-shaped infield with a home plate and three other bases, 90 feet (27 meters) apart, forming a circuit that must be completed by a base runner in order to score, the central offensive action entailing hitting of a pitched ball with a wooden or metal bat and running of the bases, the winner being the team scoring the most runs.

2. the ball used in this game, being a sphere approximately 3 inches (7 centimeters) in diameter with a twine-covered center of cork covered by stitched horsehide.

3. Cards. a variety of five-card or seven-card stud poker in which nines and threes are wild and in which threes and fours dealt face up gain the player either penalties or privileges.

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baseball British  

/ ˈbeɪsˌbɔːl /

noun

1. a team game with nine players on each side, played on a field with four bases connected to form a diamond. The object is to score runs by batting the ball and running round the bases

2. the hard rawhide-covered ball used in this game

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• probaseball
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• baseballs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of baseball

First recorded in 1795–1805; base ¹ + ball ¹

Explanation

Baseball is a game in which a player hits a ball with a bat and runs around the field, stepping on three bases before returning to where he started. Most baseball games last seven innings. During a typical baseball game, two teams of nine players each take turns being at bat while the other team stands in the field attempting to catch any balls that are hit and tag running players out before they are safe on a base. Though baseball was first played in 19th century England in the form of "rounders," it's been considered the US national sport since the early 20th century.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

baseball baseballs

Games will span seven innings and the league will use aluminum bats featured in college baseball and softball, while outfield dimensions were altered to be closer to the Women’s World Cup field dimensions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

And the rest of baseball should probably be terrified.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

The company typically reached those customers via TV ads during hockey, baseball and college-football games.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026

The 37-year-old Robinson retired from baseball after the 1956 season.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

Cartoons on the TV, with Darius watching intently; baseball bats, books, footballs, blankets scattered here and there; music playing quietly from a stereo.

From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly

The collection also will include baseballs, bats and a limited run of Topps trading cards that promise to feature KAWS’ interpretation of Dodgers and Yankees iconography.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

UC climate scientist Daniel Swain said this pattern will accelerate “for the rest of our lives as air continues to warm and baseballs continue to meet less and less resistance.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026

Babe Ruth once visited the Toledo Blade headquarters, tossing signed baseballs from a balcony to adoring crowds below.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 5, 2026

The Dodgers rescued him from purgatory in Anaheim and surrounded him with a star-studded roster, and now he makes more money from pitching products than pitching baseballs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2025

Finsterwald’s backyard was a graveyard of tennis balls and baseballs and footballs and Frisbees and model airplanes and oneway boomerangs.

From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli