pinball

American  

[pin-bawl] / ˈpɪnˌbɔl /

noun

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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Etymology

Origin of pinball

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

Example Sentences

A vintage magazine ad boasts of the studio’s high-end gear as well as its “large screen video lounge” and “a playroom with pong, pinball and bumper pool.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

Arcades began to shift from pinball machines to videogames, and by the 1980s Nintendo was well positioned when the personal-gaming trend exploded.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

The Fed slowed QT because the standing repo facility, their emergency lending window, started lighting up like a pinball machine.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 5, 2025

"This pinball phase is a very exciting phase of matter that we observed while researching the generalized Wigner crystal," Lewandowski said.

From Science Daily • Nov. 17, 2025

We then went to eat french fries at McDonald’s and he taught me how to play pinball.

From "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky