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, within reasonable, acceptable, or expected limits.

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

Example Sentences

In terms of other sporting entities, Mercedes are valued at slightly less than Manchester United and slightly more than Liverpool - so it's in the ballpark of valuations for leading non-US sports franchises.

Read more on BBC

After taking on the Ravens, they spent a week in Maryland and practiced at the Orioles’ ballpark before flying across the Atlantic the following Friday night to take on the Jaguars.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Happy to simply show up at the ballpark, handle his taxing job as the starting catcher on baseball’s best team, and sidestep the attention a player of his talent would typically command.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Although there has been an uptick in recent years, attendance began declining at ballparks around the country in the late 2000s.

Read more on Salon

You can’t blame the fans, who were on their feet and loud in both ballparks.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

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