Synonyms

crystal ball

American

noun

a ball of clear crystal, glass, or the like, used in crystal gazing.
a method or means of predicting the future.

crystal ball British

noun

the glass globe used in crystal gazing

"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

crystal ball Idioms

A means of predicting the future, as in So what does your crystal ball say about the coming election? The term is a figurative use of the crystal or glass ball used by fortune-tellers. [c. 1900]

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

crystal balls

plural

Etymology

Origin of crystal ball

First recorded in 1850–55

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:

crystal ball

What makes you think you have a better crystal ball than full-time traders with collectively trillions of dollars at stake?

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026

The ultimate aim of Best Companies for the Future is to offer a useful measuring stick, not a crystal ball.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026

"Without a crystal ball nobody can know what is going to happen" to producers' and farmers' costs at the moment these contracts are signed.

From BBC ● May 24, 2026

“If I had a crystal ball I could tell you now what is going to happen,” Heimo Schirgi, the World Cup chief operating officer for FIFA, said Monday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2026

I explained the lady’s prediction as if the television were a crystal ball.

From "Before We Were Free" by Julia Alvarez

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023