meatball

American  

[meet-bawl] / ˈmitˌbɔl /

noun

• meatballs
  plural

1. Cooking. a small ball of ground meat, especially beef, often mixed with breadcrumbs, seasonings, etc., before cooking.

2. Slang. an awkward, clumsy, or ineffectual person.

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meatball British  

/ ˈmiːtˌbɔːl /

noun

1. minced beef, shaped into a ball before cooking

2. slang a stupid or boring person

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• meatballs
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of meatball

First recorded in 1830–40; meat + ball ¹

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Explanation

Those delicious, savory spheres on your spaghetti? They're meatballs, nuggets of ground meat, spices, and bread crumbs. If you take ground beef, mix in ingredients like torn bread, eggs, and seasoning, and shape it into individual balls, you've got meatballs. They can be fried, simmered, or baked, and you can use whatever tastes good and sticks together to make them. Ancient Chinese and Roman cuisines both included variations on the meatball, so we've been eating these for centuries. And if you know someone who's nice enough but not very smart, you might call them a meatball.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

meatball meatballs

When the bill was first presented earlier this year, one group called it a "poisoned meatball".

From BBC ● Nov. 25, 2025

For him that means a tightly edited menu of classics like pepperoni, meatball and a white pie with mushrooms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2025

When Michael tosses him a meatball during a rest at a race transition, the dog starts following the team through jungle downpours, river crossings and ocean paddles, serving as both motivator and mascot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2024

I took a pinch off a lump of moist fufu, made from cassava, and dipped it into the soup, adding a bit of meatball here and there.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 13, 2023

I throw the tiny meatball stick back into the container and grab Janae’s before she pops it into her mouth.

From "Pride" by Ibi Zoboi

What about helmets wrapped to look like frozen meatballs or wheels of imported Parmesan?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

Many of Mr. Coppola’s recollections are sensory: roasted peppers, his grandma’s sizzling meatballs, a neighbor’s homemade wine sweetened with peaches—“smells and tastes that intoxicate me to this day.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

If rolling meatballs is not in the cards on a weeknight, no worry.

From Salon ● Mar. 23, 2026

The furniture company known for its Swedish meatballs and blocky “Kallax” shelving units has found a home inside the old Helms Bakery complex in Culver City.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2026

I thought about my mother heading back home after therapy, making the spaghetti and meatballs.

From "Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel" by Harlan Coben

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