ball up

Idioms  

1. Roll something into a ball, as in She loved to knit and was always balling up her yarn . [Early 1800s]

2. Confuse or bungle, as in Jane got all balled up at the beginning of her speech , or Henry really balled up that exam . This term may come from the fact that when a horse is driven over soft or partly thawed snow, the snow becomes packed into icy balls on its hoofs, making it stumble. Another theory is that it alludes to the vulgar term balls for testicles. [First half of 1900s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ball up

“Playing with my back to goal and holding the ball up is my big strength. You don’t have to be a giant to play that target-man role.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

Their ability to get the ball up the pitch, in a more deliberate manner, rather than simply playing long from the goalkeeper was central to this.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

From the first minute, Cape Verde employed an attack-minded game - constantly attempting to get the ball up the pitch to cause Uruguay trouble.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

Tristan Peters hit a sharp ground ball up the first-base line, and first baseman Freddie Freeman made a sliding stop, tossing the ball to Yamamoto at first to complete the play.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2026

I like to avoid the early shoot-around, the chaos of just throwing the ball up and having it bounce out because someone else’s shot smacked it away.

From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds