passed ball

American

[past bawl] / ˈpæst ˌbɔl /

noun

Baseball.

a pitched ball that the catcher can reasonably be expected to catch but misses, allowing one or more base runners to advance one or more bases.

Etymology

Origin of passed ball

An Americanism dating back to 1860–65

Compare meaning

How does passed-ball compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

passed ball vs. wild pitch

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:

passed ball

Their first run was the result of a passed ball.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026

Adell then moved to second on a passed ball by catcher Dalton Rushing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026

After Brenton Doyle’s RBI single, Ezequiel Tovar scored on a passed ball to tie it, and with two outs, Elias Díaz delivered a go-ahead double that sent Colorado to a 10-9 win.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 29, 2024

He advanced to second on a passed ball, hustled to third on J.P.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 6, 2024

Got it to the umpire on the last passed ball.

From The Redheaded Outfield by Grey, Zane

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023