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 )
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.
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
“Emotional. I’m spent emotionally. We got a ball game later tonight, which is crazy.”
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 28, 2025
Because I think if we fall short of that, that’s the end of the ball game.
From Slate • Oct. 15, 2025
In the third or fourth inning of our ball game that afternoon, I spotted Mary Hudson from first base.
From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger
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.
