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ground ball

American  
[ground bawl] / ˈgraʊnd ˈbɔl /

noun

Baseball.
  1. a batted ball that rolls or bounces along the ground without having first risen in the air, as opposed to a fly ball.


Etymology

Origin of ground ball

First recorded in 1830–40, in cricket use; as an Americanism in 1855–60, in baseball use

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:

The play started with Muncy hitting a ground ball up the first-base line.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 5, 2026

He didn’t dive for fly balls and on rare occasions failed to run hard when he hit a ground ball.

From Los Angeles Times Apr. 17, 2026

With runners on the corner and one out in the bottom of the 11th, he induced a routine ground ball to shortstop off the bat of Alejandro Kirk.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 2, 2025

After the bunt, the Dodgers put Addison Barger on with a walk, setting up the double play, the Jays hit a ground ball, and well, you know the rest…Dodgers win.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 2, 2025

A ground ball scored a run, but now it was two outs with a runner on third.

From "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson

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