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

Though, with both names on the heels of widely successful projects, it was hardly a “crystal ball” suggestion — it just so happened to be correct.

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Mehta said that the case required him to “gaze into a crystal ball and look to the future,” something he felt was “no judge’s forte.”

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But one thing that probably will remain true is that the region’s path into the future will inspire writers to keep peering into their crystal balls, cloudy as they are.

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“I wish I could put a crystal ball on it,” Hortiz said when asked of his prediction on when Tre’ Harris’ deal could be done.

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The odds of a second season, says my cloudy crystal ball, are limited, so you may have to accommodate a few minor cliffhangers if you decide to watch.

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