crystal ball
Americannoun
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a ball of clear crystal, glass, or the like, used in crystal gazing.
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a method or means of predicting the future.
noun
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.
"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
“He who lives by the crystal ball learns to eat ground glass,” as they say.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 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
As long as investors remain desperate for a crystal ball to show how AI will affect the world as we know it—the volatility will persist.
From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026
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?’
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
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.
