Dictionary.com
definitions

baseball

[beys-bawl]
|

noun

a game of ball between two nine-player teams played usually for nine innings on a field that has as a focal point a diamond-shaped infield with a home plate and three other bases, 90 feet (27 meters) apart, forming a circuit that must be completed by a base runner in order to score, the central offensive action entailing hitting of a pitched ball with a wooden or metal bat and running of the bases, the winner being the team scoring the most runs.
the ball used in this game, being a sphere approximately 3 inches (7 cm) in diameter with a twine-covered center of cork covered by stitched horsehide.
Cards. a variety of five-card or seven-card stud poker in which nines and threes are wild and in which threes and fours dealt face up gain the player either penalties or privileges.

RELATED CONTENT

These Might Be The Strangest Names In Sports
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld once said, “Loyalty to any one sports team is pretty hard to justify, because the players are always changing; the team could move to another city. You’re actually rooting for the clothes when you get right down to it.” Still, we persist in pouring our heart and soul into following our teams. So, in all this devotion, have you ever wondered where …
READ MORE
How Baseball Teams Got Their Names
Read more in this article about some frequently asked questions and fun facts related to our definitions.
READ MORE

Origin of baseball

First recorded in 1795–1805; base1 + ball1
Related formspro·base·ball, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for baseball

Contemporary Examples of baseball

Historical Examples of baseball

  • Then Ned, from a baseball standpoint of safety, did what might be termed a foolish thing.

  • It would have been impossible to throw a baseball from one end to the other.

  • He is trying to get your place as captain of the baseball club.

    The Cash Boy

    Horatio Alger Jr.

  • Anyway, I advise you to resign as captain of the baseball club.

    The Cash Boy

    Horatio Alger Jr.

  • They show the true sport in their games of football and baseball.

British Dictionary definitions for baseball

baseball

noun

a team game with nine players on each side, played on a field with four bases connected to form a diamond. The object is to score runs by batting the ball and running round the bases
the hard rawhide-covered ball used in this game
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for baseball
n.

in the modern sense, 1845, American English, from base (n.) + ball (n.1). Earlier references, e.g. in Jane Austen's "Northanger Abbey," refer to the game of "rounders," of which baseball is a more elaborate variety. Legendarily invented 1839 by Abner Doubleday in Cooperstown, N.Y. Base was used for "start or finish line of a race" from 1690s; and the sense of "safe spot" found in modern children's game of tag can be traced to 14c. (the sense in baseball is from 1868).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper