baller

[ baw-ler ]

noun

1. Also ball·a []. Slang.
   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. Also ball·a []. Slang. 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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of baller¹

First recorded in 1580–90, ball ¹( def ) + -er ¹( def ) (in general sense “ball player”); in 1825–35 baller fordef 2, ball ¹( def ) + -er ¹( def ) (in sense “tool or scoop”); in 1985–90 baller fordef 1b, shortening of (basket)ball ( def ) + -er ¹( def ); in 1990–95 baller fordef 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

The 40-year-old beauty has also been linked to guys in the past whom she’s played coy about seeing when asked, including NBA star James Harden, NFL baller DeSean Jackson, and most notably, rapper Nelly.

From Essence.com

Ever wonder how words like "twerk" and "baller" find themselves falling awkwardly from the mouths of morning show hosts?

From The Daily Beast

Is the art of the Nicki Minaj-style rap something you knew ahead of time that you were a baller at?

From The Daily Beast

Here, a history of Leonardo DiCaprio, the Baller, as told through .

From The Daily Beast

All kidding aside—it has to feel pretty baller to make the list, right?

From The Daily Beast

In the baller the iron is very soon made into a ball without manual aid.

From Project Gutenberg

The baller is a bulging cylinder having hollow trunnions through which the flame passes.

From Project Gutenberg

Mr. Baller, a florist of Bloomington, said that of late the demand for plants had fallen off.

From Project Gutenberg

He reminded me of a young man who was on the varsity eleven—foot-baller—when I entered my freshman year.

From Project Gutenberg