ballpark

or ball park

[ bawl-pahrk ]

noun

1. a tract of land where ball games, especially baseball, are played.
2. a baseball stadium.

adjective

1. Informal. being an approximation, based on an educated guess:

   Give me a ballpark figure on our total expenses for next year.

ballpark

/ ˈbɔːlˌpɑːk /

noun

1. a stadium used for baseball games
2. informal.
   1. approximate range

      in the right ballpark

   2. ( as modifier )

      a ballpark figure

3. informal.
   a situation; state of affairs

   it's a whole new ballpark for him

Word History and Origins

Origin of ballpark¹

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900; ball ¹ + park

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in the ballpark, Informal. within reasonable, acceptable, or expected limits:

   The price may go up another $10, but that's still in the ballpark.

Example Sentences

At most ballparks and arenas, there’s a hot dog-buying, finding-my-seat murmur beneath the song.

From Washington Post

So you know whether the affordability is going to be in the ballpark.

From Time

The team had been told by their affiliate Detroit Tigers to improve the ballpark, and they were responding, with a brand-new diamond and outfield, a team store, a left-field plaza and a kid zone on the way.

From Ozy

Vogel returned to the ballpark Wednesday, and while the decorations have long been removed, the scene was no less festive.

From Washington Post

Emily Grubert, a professor of environmental engineering at Georgia Tech, wanted to get a ballpark picture of how many fossil power plants may be “stranded” by climate policy—that is, shuttered before they’ve recouped their costs.

From Quartz

At that moment the chant “We want Gehrig, we want Gehrig” started to rumble from every corner of the big ballpark.

From The Daily Beast

The AHA stepped up to the plate, but instead of an out-of-the-ballpark home run, it fouled out.

From The Daily Beast

Still, the numbers give you a rough idea of the ballpark expenditure.

From The Daily Beast

Happy birthday Wrigley Field, but are you too beautiful of a ballpark?

From The Daily Beast

So what and how he is able to “act out” and the magnitude of his less-than-stellar decisions is a whole different ballpark.

From The Daily Beast

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