ball game
Americannoun
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any game played with a ball, especially baseball or softball.
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Informal. a situation and all its attendant circumstances.
Having a new administration in power changes the entire ball game at city hall.
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Archaeology. a ceremonial game of both ritual and sporting significance, played by teams on a ball court in Mesoamerican cultures from the Preclassic period to the Spanish conquest.
noun
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any game played with a ball
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a game of baseball
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informal a situation; state of affairs (esp in the phrase a whole new ball game )
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of ball game
An Americanism dating back to 1840–50
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Amid concern that kids playing in the streets would get hit by cars, Los Angeles made it a misdemeanor to play baseball, basketball, soccer or any other ball game on a street or sidewalk.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
The removal of the flesh-and-blood element in something so human as a ball game will be pitched as a great stride forward, but it’s actually a major loss.
From Salon ● Apr. 13, 2026
Selling homes is a whole different ball game, and you have to bring something to the table.”
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 3, 2026
"But then they found messages on his telephone, and that was a whole different ball game."
From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2026
One small boy was absorbed in a ball game with a cat with luminescent fur.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
