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

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

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

I would like for there to be activities or games such as scavenger hunts, escape rooms, billiards, pinball, karaoke, pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey — you name it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2026

My kid is going to want to play a vintage pinball machine.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026

Perhaps it is not surprising, then, that, to a lonely young man, a pinball machine might seem to have its own “temperament and moods,” but then technology is often perceived as emotional.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026

With a slight tilt of his head toward the pinball machine, Papá motioned for me to get Trampita and Torito.

From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez

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

Some machines are gambling devices that use pinballs to create random games of chance, like a slot machine, adding to the confusion.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 19, 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

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