ball game
Americannoun
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any game played with a ball, especially baseball or softball.
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Informal. a situation and all its attendant circumstances.
Having a new administration in power changes the entire ball game at city hall.
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Archaeology. a ceremonial game of both ritual and sporting significance, played by teams on a ball court in Mesoamerican cultures from the Preclassic period to the Spanish conquest.
noun
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any game played with a ball
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a game of baseball
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informal a situation; state of affairs (esp in the phrase a whole new ball game )
Etymology
Origin of ball game
An Americanism dating back to 1840–50
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.
“It was just a well-executed ball game and game plan that the coaching staff came up with, and the players, we executed it. I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates.”
From Washington Times
Eurovision has become a whole new ball game in the past five years and contestants need to arrive as the whole package.
From BBC
"If that’s catching 10 interceptions, catching five, catching one, catching none. As long as we are winning ball games, that’s all that matters," Byard told Fox News in a recent interview.
From Fox News
Another shooting just last week also rocked the city, when gunfire erupted outside of Nationals Stadium during a ball game and sent fans and players rushing to take cover.
From Fox News
"You win the ball game and it's easy to laugh off," he added.
From Fox News
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.
