balling

[ baw-lin ]

verb

1. Slang. living a lavish, flashy, or extravagant lifestyle, especially spending freely while partying:

   It’s not fair that he’s out ballin’ in the club while she’s home taking care of their kids.

2. Informal. present participle of ball ¹, in the sense of playing basketball:

   Y’all remember those summers we spent ballin on the court shooting threes?

3. Slang: Vulgar. present participle of ball ¹, in the sense of having sexual intercourse.

adjective

, Slang.

1. lavish, flashy, or extravagant:

   He really doesn’t have the kind of money to keep up this balling lifestyle.

Word History and Origins

Origin of balling¹

First recorded in 1660–70; ball ²( def ) + -ing ¹( def ); 1990–95 balling fordef 2, ball ¹( def ) + -ing ¹( def ); 1960–65 balling fordef 3, ball ¹( def ) + -ing ¹( def )

Example Sentences

Drake extended the ball across the goal line and lost possession of it as his arm and the ball hit the turf.

From Washington Post

Oubre is a capable starter, but he can’t replicate Thompson’s elite shooting and on-ball defense.

From Washington Post

Ball and D’Angelo Russell are both creative playmakers and poor defenders who don’t bring much to the table when they move off the ball.

From Washington Post

If you’re thinking about your stance and your footwork, by the time the ball gets snapped, you’re going to get beat.

From Washington Post

On a Zoom call that lasted for almost two hours, Matalon warned him to not talk over the snap of the ball or referees announcing penalties, and to stay away from vague references to jargon like “cover-two” without explaining what they mean.

From Washington Post

So he and his partner, Zack Simpson, did what they do so well: started spit-balling some game theory around politics.

From The Daily Beast

Yezidis play a sort of basketball game here, balling cloth up and tossing it onto the top of the mound.

From The Daily Beast

We were sort of spit-balling off of each other to find out who Anna was.

From The Daily Beast

Spit-balling from weeds identified only by a screen name is just, well...so Republican.

From The Daily Beast

The "balling" of this sponge into three loaves is a task that occupies from ten to fifteen minutes.

From Project Gutenberg

They did not fall in love with him, nor he with them, but a morning was spent very pleasantly in snow-balling in the back garden.

From Project Gutenberg

Then somebody threw a snow-ball, and in a trice the entire crowd were snow-balling Ferris as furiously as they could.

From Project Gutenberg

Several of our attendants dismounted and began a snow-balling match,—a wintry scene which reminded me of my fatherland.

From Project Gutenberg

If nothing hinders the balling and shingling, these operations will not consume more than fifteen minutes.

From Project Gutenberg