ballpark
Americannoun
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ballparks
plural
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a tract of land where ball games, especially baseball, are played.
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a baseball stadium.
adjective
idioms
noun
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a stadium used for baseball games
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informal
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approximate range
in the right ballpark
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( as modifier )
a ballpark figure
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informal a situation; state of affairs
it's a whole new ballpark for him
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of ballpark
Explanation
A ballpark is the area where baseball is played. When you go to the ballpark, you can sit in the stands, eat a hot dog, and cheer for your favorite team. Ballpark is an American word from the late 1800s, originally a shortened form of baseball park. The ballpark is familiar to baseball fans, their equivalent of a football stadium or a tennis court. Colloquially, you can be "in the ballpark" when you're close or within a certain range: "I'm just guessing how much that car costs, but I bet I'm in the ballpark."
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.
See Examples For:
With long-dated Treasury yields now well above 5%, that could translate to a yield in the 8% ballpark.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
Now, if I put in a ballpark 20 hours for the week, great.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
James Butts, the mayor of Inglewood, has said he would frown upon a ballpark there.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
The companies haven’t said how much, but based on comparable therapies, the full treatment could cost somewhere in the ballpark of $300,000.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
And baseball in Seattle had recently experienced a major setback—one of many more to come—when the wooden stands at the Indians’ ballpark, Dugdale Park, burned to the ground in July 1932.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
In Las Vegas, Kim envisions baseball fans walking through Bally’s restaurants, bars and entertainment spaces on their way to A’s games, much as fans now stream through the neighborhoods surrounding older urban ballparks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
Or the idea of ballparks as sacred spaces.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 2, 2026
Although there has been an uptick in recent years, attendance began declining at ballparks around the country in the late 2000s.
From Salon ● Nov. 3, 2025
It’s unclear how many fans were affected, but the problem wasn’t confined to Dodger Stadium — the issue has been ongoing since at least last weekend at MLB ballparks across the country.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2025
Outside the ballparks, America was in the midst of a massive and uncertain shift.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
