crystal ball

noun

1. a ball of clear crystal, glass, or the like, used in crystal gazing.

2. a method or means of predicting the future.

crystal ball

noun

1. the glass globe used in crystal gazing

Word History and Origins

Origin of crystal ball¹

First recorded in 1850–55

Idioms and Phrases

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]

Example Sentences

But there isn’t yet such a thing as a crystal ball.

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“Maybe a crystal ball could tell us,” Cassiopeia said.

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“And how did you know to find me at Swanburne? Surely there was a crystal ball involved.”

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He folded his hands and pleaded in a little girl’s voice: “‘Old Timothy, please, look in your crystal ball and tell me: How will it all turn out?’

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“It was only a metaphor, I am sure! But why do you ask? Surely you do not put any stock in curses and crystal balls and such, do you?”

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