ballsy
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ballsy
1955–60; balls (in the sense “boldness, courage, brashness”) + -y 1; cf. -sy
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:
“They’re pretty ballsy, but they know what they’re doing.”
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 25, 2023
“One intensely sad and angry and insecure, the other a ballsy bravado performance for public consumption.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2023
That title is a ballsy rejoinder if you think about it.
From Salon ● Dec. 8, 2022
"I walked by it, and I thought that going for it was going to be ballsy, but the fact that he pulled it off and even had a birdie look was just incredible."
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2022
Cicero’s defense was ballsy to the point of recklessness.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
But I’m also richer, more powerful and ballsier than everyone else.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 28, 2016
You might expect J. Edgar to trump The Private Files with even ballsier revelations or, taking the high road, more elevated insights.
From Time ● Nov. 8, 2011
It’s something Jensen calls “the ballsiest thing I’ve ever seen a person do.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 29, 2025
“I think it's probably one of the ballsiest moves that has ever been made in the history of the hip-hop business,” says hip-hop historian Jeff Chang, author of the book Can’t Stop Won’t Stop.
From Slate ● Feb. 25, 2014
The conference prank isn't even their ballsiest, or their funniest.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 22, 2012
Ladies and gentlemen, the ballsiest letter ever written.
From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2012
The result is the blackest, ballsiest political comedy since Dr. Strangelove.
From Time ● Nov. 19, 2010
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.
