pinball

American  

[pin-bawl] / ˈpɪnˌbɔl /

noun

• pinballs
  plural

1. any of various games played on a sloping, glass-topped table presenting a field of colorful, knoblike target pins and rails, the object usually being to shoot a ball, driven by a spring, up a side passage and cause it to roll back down against these projections and through channels, which electrically flash or ring and record the score.

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pinball British  

/ ˈpɪnˌbɔːl /

noun

1. 1. a game in which the player shoots a small ball through several hazards on a table, electrically operated machine, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a pinball machine

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pinballs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pinball

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; pin + ball ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pinball pinballs

And that’s when the idea for “Pinball Wizard” came to the songwriter, who used to play pinball at the local arcade with Cohn and The Who’s producer Kit Lambert.

From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026

The joyful tennis pinball made it official Thursday, announcing his dramatic return to the $23 Honey Deuce Invitational aka U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

He compared trying to find a path between bins and cars as being "like a pinball machine".

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

Elijah Just rumbled toward the box and seemed to pinball around the Iranian defense.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

And when someone taps me on the shoulder in history class, my heart is a pinball.

From "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli

Elliot Daly, the only back with north of 50 caps, pinballs back to the 11 shirt from full-back.

From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2025

And so when you think or hear something, you don't think, next on a timeline ... it shoots you off, it pinballs you back to this time.

From Salon ● Apr. 13, 2023

His voice, slightly lisped, pinballs from story to story, often landing back at the place he started.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2022

Behind her, the smiles crisscross the frame as the feeling of celebration pinballs across their faces.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 17, 2022

And then Abby nudges me again later to pick up a pen she dropped, and it’s pinballs all over again.

From "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli