blackball
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
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a negative vote, especially in deciding on an applicant or candidate.
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a black ball placed in a ballot box signifying a negative vote.
noun
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a negative vote or veto
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a black wooden ball used to indicate disapproval or to veto in a vote
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a hard boiled sweet with black-and-white stripes
verb
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to vote against in a ballot
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to exclude (someone) from a group, profession, etc; ostracize
Usage
What does blackball mean? Blackball most commonly means to blacklist someone or otherwise ban, reject, or unfairly prevent them from joining an organization or participating in something. The act of doing so can also be called a blackball. The word typically implies that the action being taken is both secretive and especially unfair or vengeful. It is often used in the context of someone being secretly blacklisted from a particular company, organization, or an entire industry. Originally, the word blackball referred to a literal black ball placed in a ballot box to indicate a negative vote—a vote against a person. It can still be used to mean a negative vote or to vote against someone. Example: Reports suggest that former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick is being actively blackballed by the league for protesting police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem.
Discover More
The term is now applied generally to efforts — especially unreasonable or vengeful actions — to keep a people or groups out of organizations they wish to join.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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blackballsimple
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blackballssimple
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have blackballedperfect
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has blackballedperfect
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am blackballingprogressive
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are blackballingprogressive
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is blackballingprogressive
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have been blackballingperfect progressive
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has been blackballingperfect progressive
Past
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blackballedsimple
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had blackballedperfect
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was blackballingprogressive
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were blackballingprogressive
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had been blackballingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of blackball
Explanation
When you blackball someone, you ban him from a group. A bunch of kids who kick a tattletale out of their secret club essentially blackball him. You can use blackball as a noun or a verb — a blackball is an act of excluding or ostracizing someone. Country club members might initiate a blackball against an eccentric member who wears tie dyed t-shirts on the golf course, for example. The origin of the word goes back to the 1700s, when club members would cast secret votes on membership using white and black wooden or ivory balls. The black balls represented "no" votes.
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:
Ms McKinney said modelling opportunities began to decline for her and she believed Mr Combs used his influence to "blackball" her in the industry.
From BBC ● May 22, 2024
Daniels told “Raq Rants” in 2018 that he did not blackball Mo’Nique.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 2, 2022
Regarding the charge from many of his accusers that he threatened to derail their careers if they spoke out: “I couldn’t blackball anybody, because if I said, ‘Don’t use that actress’ .
From Washington Post ● Mar. 11, 2020
The attempt to blackball Froome from racing may prove futile but it is as much about commercial realities – TV revenues, sponsors’ sensibilities, merchandise and marketing – as it is about ethics.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 1, 2018
And I knew that by the next day, every railroad’s personnel office would have a blackball on me, so I never tried to get another railroad job.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
While that blackballs the firms, it does not ban all business dealings, the report added.
From Reuters ● Mar. 25, 2022
I buy licorice whips, jelly beans, many-layered blackballs with the seed in the middle, packages of fizzy sherbet you suck up through a straw.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
Napoleon sees in this remark a germ of aggression on behalf of his House of Commons, more especially when emphasised by 125 blackballs against a Government Bill.
From Napoleon's Letters to Josephine by Hall, Henry Foljambe
And the longer they have gone before the more likely he is to receive no blackballs.
From The Country House by Galsworthy, John
Julius Cæsar Conway;—a great friend of mine, and therefore he always blackballs my other friends at the club.
From Phineas Finn The Irish Member by Trollope, Anthony
In an unpublished article titled “Das Kannibal,” Mitchell wrote angrily about being blackballed for speaking out against the war.
From Slate ● Jun. 6, 2025
Then again, maybe that’s a popcorn kernel for critics and other nerds, like another episode’s throwaway line from a former journalist who says she got blackballed for sucker-punching Rex Reed.
From Salon ● May 8, 2025
It has also been reported that the energy security department had already blackballed Greenpeace months ago.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2023
Burke, who died in 1995 at age 42, felt he was blackballed by the sport.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 15, 2023
If he’s not careful, he’ll be blackballed by his state medical association and kept out of the hospitals.”
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
And the reason for that compulsive work ethic was her unofficial blackballing by “Tonight Show” host Johnny Carson, for the crime of accepting Fox's offer to host her own talk show.
From Salon ● May 14, 2025
“They face industry blackballing and fewer professional opportunities when they speak out,” Williams said.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 23, 2022
He won a multimillion-dollar settlement in 2019 after he accused the league of blackballing him because of his protests.
From New York Times ● Sep. 13, 2020
Leger’s blackballing might have something do with the controversies over control of the convention center’s funds, but we can’t know that because of the secrecy surrounding Peterson’s actions.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 10, 2020
They wouldn't have dreamed of blackballing any one proposed by a popular man like you, and Mr Breitstein asked you personally to use your influence—you told me so.'
From Uneasy Money by Wodehouse, P. G. (Pelham Grenville)
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.
