baseball

American  

[beys-bawl] / ˈbeɪsˌbɔl /

noun

baseballs plural

1. 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.

2. the ball used in this game, being a sphere approximately 3 inches (7 centimeters) in diameter with a twine-covered center of cork covered by stitched horsehide.

3. 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.

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baseball British  

/ ˈbeɪsˌbɔːl /

noun

1. 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

2. the hard rawhide-covered ball used in this game

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• probaseball
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• baseballs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of baseball

First recorded in 1795–1805; base ¹ + ball ¹

Explanation

Baseball is a game in which a player hits a ball with a bat and runs around the field, stepping on three bases before returning to where he started. Most baseball games last seven innings. During a typical baseball game, two teams of nine players each take turns being at bat while the other team stands in the field attempting to catch any balls that are hit and tag running players out before they are safe on a base. Though baseball was first played in 19th century England in the form of "rounders," it's been considered the US national sport since the early 20th century.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

baseball baseballs

Women’s baseball has been long fractured with few opportunities for the best to gather in one spot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

Canadian 19-year-old right-hander Michelle Roche plays college baseball in British Columbia while 38-year-old veteran Meggie Meidlinger has been a bullpen stopper for the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

The company typically reached those customers via TV ads during hockey, baseball and college-football games.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026

Union members last week held an information picket outside a Blue Jays baseball game in Toronto to highlight a call for all work-related duties to be paid, including boarding, delays and safety checks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

Dad’s face looked just about as excited as it looked when he was watching baseball.

From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold

Babe Ruth once visited the Toledo Blade headquarters, tossing signed baseballs from a balcony to adoring crowds below.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 5, 2026

The baseballs got top billing in the wide-ranging auction that included 579 items, but a Lou Gehrig game-worn jersey sold for well more than the three balls combined.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2025

The Dodgers rescued him from purgatory in Anaheim and surrounded him with a star-studded roster, and now he makes more money from pitching products than pitching baseballs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2025

What he really wanted was the pint-size soccer balls, squishy baseballs, plastic bowling balls.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2025

I went through a bunch of the toothbrushes they give you at the dentist, and three baseballs that Dad had caught at games, which he wrote the dates on.

From "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer