ballpark figure

Idioms  

1. An acceptable, roughly accurate approximation, as in I know you can't tell me the exact cost; just give me a ballpark figure. This term alludes to a baseball field, which is always an enclosed space. The expression is basically an extension of the somewhat earlier in the ballpark, meaning within a reasonable range, and out of the ballpark, beyond a reasonable range. [Slang; late 1960s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ballpark figure

An accountant exasperatingly asks for a ballpark figure, and Escola’s Bernadette, wiggling like a charmed snake with their hands on their hips, asks, “Is this a ballpark figure?”

From New York Times ● Feb. 27, 2024

“The ballpark figure we’re looking at is getting to the consumption of about 80 gallons per person per day,” said Adel Hagekhalil, the district’s general manager.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2022

Nationally, a ballpark figure for annual repair of graffiti damage is $15 billion to $18 billion.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 11, 2021

His initial ballpark figure for the second half of last year was 100,000 to 200,000 units, but the company ended up only selling 1,770.

From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2018

According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, it would cost a ballpark figure of about £10bn per year.

From BBC ● May 11, 2017