no ball
noun
an unfairly bowled ball.
no ball
Americannoun
Cricket.
no-ball
British
noun
-
cricket an illegal ball, as for overstepping the crease, throwing, etc, for which the batting side scores a run, and from which the batsman can be out only by being run out
-
rounders an illegal ball, esp one bowled too high or too low
verb
Etymology
Origin of no ball
First recorded in 1740–50
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.
See Examples For:
Matt Henry and Jacob Duffy took a wicket each in the first two overs before Zak Foulkes conceded 24 runs off the third over, which started with a no ball for four and three wides.
From Barron's ● Jan. 23, 2026
The idea was to impose their game on South Africa but they had no ball, no possession, no respite.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2023
He hit five sixes and a four in Harshal Patel’s 20th over — with one of the sixes coming off a no ball — for his 28-ball 62.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 25, 2021
There is no ball to share, as there is in basketball.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 1, 2020
He couldn’t even run right, let alone play no ball.
From "Slam!" by Walter Dean Myers
There was also the careless moment of a no-ball for one too many fielders outside the 30-yard circle.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026
Smith, who was caught off a no-ball and had other moments of fortune in his skittish 46, played a truly awful shot to be caught off part-time medium-pacer Marnus Labuschagne.
From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2026
It states "the third umpire shall determine whether the batter has been caught", including checking for a no-ball and "whether the batter has hit the ball".
From BBC ● Dec. 18, 2025
I bowled a no-ball, a short one that got hit for four first ball.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2025
Why not make it a no-ball every time unless the bowler has both feet in the air at the moment when the ball leaves his hand?
From Punch, or the London Charivari, July 1, 1914 by Sir Owen Seaman
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.
