Showing results for "baller"

SEE ALSO:

Slang dictionary results for baller.

baller

American  

[baw-ler] / ˈbɔ lər /

noun

ballers plural

1. Slang. Also balla

   1. a successful person who has or earns a lot of money and lives a lavish, flashy, or extravagant lifestyle.

      I busted out my newly tailored suit and rolled in there like a baller, or at least I tried my best to.

      He’s a real baller now, upgrading from a bachelor pad to a penthouse.

   2. someone who is proficient at playing ball, especially basketball.

      She'll be taking her talents, as a baller and a student, to Davidson College this fall.

2. a tool that makes, scoops, or winds things into balls (used in combination).

   Using a melon baller, scoop out the inside of the apples, taking care to create a shell of even thickness.

   Just for kicks, they balled socks in a mechanical sock baller and shot them across the room.

---

adjective

1. Slang. Also balla great or excellent, especially in a flashy or stylish way.

   I'd never been inside that club before, and the place is baller—it’s going to blow you away.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ballers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of baller

First recorded in 1580–90, ball ¹ ( def. ) + -er ¹ ( def. ) (in general sense “ball player”); in 1825–35 baller for def. 2, ball ¹ ( def. ) + -er ¹ ( def. ) (in sense “tool or scoop”); in 1985–90 baller for def. 1b, shortening of (basket)ball ( def. ) + -er ¹ ( def. ); in 1990–95 baller for def. 3, in adjective sense “great, excellent”; perhaps from ball ¹ ( def. ) + -er ¹ ( def. ), or from ball ² ( def. ) + -er ¹ ( def. ), the spelling balla representing an African-American Vernacular pronunciation

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

baller ballers

He says he will let others decide if he is the best "baller" in the Premier League, but he certainly puts himself up there.

From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2025

He’s 5 feet 11, 160 pounds, an A student and certified baller.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2025

When she later walked into the postgame news conference, she bore the swaggering smile of a baller.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 25, 2024

Doug Herzog, the former president of Viacom Music and Entertainment Group and the man responsible for hiring Stewart for the job back in the late ‘90s, described it to The Wrap as “a baller move.”

From Salon ● Feb. 4, 2024

Charlise is a baller who’s been accepted to Duke on a basketball scholarship.

From "Pride" by Ibi Zoboi

By offering higher salaries, on-site childcare and state-of-the-art training environments, Unrivaled directly challenges the systemic disparities that have historically hindered not only female ballers but women’s sports at large.

From Salon ● Mar. 14, 2025

The World War Two veteran agreed to put together a crack squad of ballers and named his new franchise in honour of General Eisenhower.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2023

The actors had to learn to play convincing ball, and the ballers had to give convincing performances.

From New York Times ● Jun. 27, 2023

They were foul-filled matchups at the end of the 1990s, better fit for brawlers than ballers, and beautiful to watch only for someone who loves ferocious competition like Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 29, 2023

“We can’t all be ballers like Dray and your aunt Jo.”

From "American Street" by Ibi Zoboi