hardball

[ hahrd-bawl ]

/ ˈhɑrdˌbɔl /

noun

baseball, as distinguished from softball.

adjective

tough or ruthless: He wasn't ready for the hardball politics of Washington.

outspoken, challenging, or difficult: Reporters asked the president some hardball questions.

Nearby words

hard-wired, hard-working, hardanger, hardback, hardbake, hardball, hardboard, hardbody, hardboot, hardbound, hardcore

Idioms

play hardball, to act or work aggressively, competitively, or ruthlessly, as in business or politics.

Origin of hardball

First recorded in 1825–35; hard + ball¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hardball

Last week on Hardball, Kathleen Parker said he is definitely running.
The Numbers Don’t Lie: Jeb Bush Can’t Beat Hillary Clinton|Michael Tomasky|May 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Scott Simkus bemusingly explores it all in Outsider Baseball: The Weird World of Hardball on the Fringe, 1876—1950.
Home Runs, Frozen Ropes, And Some Wild Cards In Best Baseball Books|Robert Birnbaum|April 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In any case, the healthy sampling below confirms the narrative-friendly qualities of hardball.
Home Runs, Frozen Ropes, And Some Wild Cards In Best Baseball Books|Robert Birnbaum|April 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Will the Democrats engage in an aggressive, hardball type strategy?
Dems Need to Channel ‘House of Cards’’ Frank Underwood|Dean Obeidallah|March 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Transfixingly candid and gamely stepping up to the plate for a round of hardball, Lohan seemed to be answering yes.
Oprah’s Lindsay Lohan Interview Settles It: Lohan’s Comeback Is Real|Kevin Fallon|August 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for hardball

hardball

/ (ˈhɑːdbɔːl) /

noun

US and Canadian baseball as distinct from softball

play hardball informal, mainly US and Canadian to act in a ruthless or uncompromising way

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for hardball

hardball

1883 as the name of a game, from hard + ball (n.1). The figurative sense of "tough, uncompromising behavior" is from 1973.