ball

[bawl]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ball ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a spherical or approximately spherical body or shape; sphere: He rolled the piece of paper into a ball.

a round or roundish body, of various sizes and materials, either hollow or solid, for use in games, as baseball, football, tennis, or golf.

a game played with a ball, especially baseball: The boys are out playing ball.

Baseball. a pitched ball, not swung at by the batter, that does not pass over home plate between the batter's shoulders and knees.

Military.

a solid, usually spherical projectile for a cannon, rifle, pistol, etc., as distinguished from a shell.
projectiles, especially bullets, collectively.

any part of a thing, especially of the human body, that is rounded or protuberant: the ball of the thumb.

a round mass of food, as of chopped meat, dough, or candy.

Slang: Vulgar. a testis.

balls, Slang: Vulgar.

boldness; courage; brashness.
nonsense (often used as an interjection).

bolus(def 1).

Horticulture. a compact mass of soil covering the roots of an uprooted tree or other plant.

Literary. a planetary or celestial body, especially the earth.

Mathematics. (in a metric space) the set of points whose distance from the zero element is less than, or less than or equal to, a specified number.

verb (used with object)

to make into a ball (sometimes followed by up): The children were balling up snow to make a snowman.

to wind into balls: to ball cotton.

Slang: Vulgar. to have sexual intercourse with.

verb (used without object)

to form or gather into a ball: When the spun sugar balls, the candy has cooked sufficiently.

Slang: Vulgar. to have sexual intercourse.

Verb Phrases

ball up, Slang. to make or become utterly confused; muddle: The records had been all balled up by inefficient file clerks.

Idioms

ball the jack, Slang.

to act with speed.
to stake everything on one attempt.

carry the ball, to assume the responsibility; bear the burden: You can always count on him to carry the ball in an emergency.

drop the ball, to make a mistake or miss an opportunity at a critical moment.

keep the ball rolling, to continue or give renewed vigor to an activity already under way: When their interest lagged, he tried to keep the ball rolling.

on the ball,

alert and efficient or effective: If you don't get on the ball, you'll be fired.
indicating intelligence or ability: The tests show your students don't have much on the ball. The new manager has a lot on the ball.

play ball,

to begin or continue playing a game.
to start or continue any action.
to work together; cooperate: union leaders suspected of playing ball with racketeers.

run with the ball, to assume responsibility or work enthusiastically: If management approves the concept, we'll run with the ball.

start the ball rolling, to put into operation; begin: The recreation director started the ball rolling by having all the participants introduce themselves.

Origin of ball

1175–1225; Middle English bal, balle < Old French < Germanic *ballaz; compare Old Norse bǫllr, Old High German bal, ballo, balla, German Ball, Dutch bal; perhaps akin to Latin follis leather bag; see ballock(s)

Related formsball·er, noun

Can be confusedbald balled bawled

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for play ball

agree, collaborate, conspire, participate

British Dictionary definitions for play ball

Ball

noun

John . died 1381, English priest: executed as one of the leaders of the Peasants' Revolt (1381)

ball

noun

a spherical or nearly spherical body or massa ball of wool

a round or roundish body, either solid or hollow, of a size and composition suitable for any of various games: football, golf, billiards, etc

a ball propelled in a particular way in a sporta high ball

any of various rudimentary games with a ballto play ball

cricket a single delivery of the ball by the bowler to the batsman

baseball a single delivery of the ball by a pitcher outside certain limits and not swung at by the batter

a solid nonexplosive projectile for a firearmCompare shell (def. 6)
such projectiles collectively

any more or less rounded part or protuberancethe ball of the foot

slang a testicleSee balls

vet science another word for bolus

horticulture the hard mass of roots and earth removed with the rest of the plant during transplanting

ball of muscle Australian a very strong, fit, or forceful person

have the ball at one's feet to have the chance of doing something

keep the ball rolling to maintain the progress of a project, plan, etc

on the ball informal alert; informed

play ball informal to cooperate

set the ball rolling or start the ball rolling to open or initiate (an action, discussion, movement, etc)

the ball is in your court you are obliged to make the next move

verb

(tr) to make, form, wind, etc, into a ball or ballsto ball wool

(intr) to gather into a ball or balls

taboo, slang, mainly US to copulate (with)

Word Origin for ball

C13: from Old Norse böllr; related to Old High German balla, Italian palla French balle

usage

Sense 9 of this word was formerly considered to be taboo, and it was labelled as such in previous editions of Collins English Dictionary . However, it has now become acceptable in speech, although some older or more conservative people may object to its use

ball

noun

a social function for dancing, esp one that is lavish or formal

informal a very enjoyable time (esp in the phrase have a ball)

Word Origin for ball

C17: from French bal (n), from Old French baller (vb), from Late Latin ballāre to dance, from Greek ballizein

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for play ball

ball

n.1

"round object," Old English *beal, from or corresponding to Old Norse bollr "ball," from Proto-Germanic *balluz (cf. Old High German ballo, German Ball), from PIE root *bhel- (2) "to blow, inflate, swell" (see bole).

Meaning "testicle" is from early 14c. Ball of the foot is from mid-14c. A ball as an object in a sports game is recorded from c.1200; To have the ball "hold the advantage" is from c.1400. To be on the ball is 1912, from sports. Ball-point pen first recorded 1946. Ball of fire when first recorded in 1821 referred to "a glass of brandy;" as "spectacularly successful striver" it is c.1900.

ball

n.2

"dancing party," 1630s, from French, from Old French baller "to dance," from Late Latin ballare "to dance," from Greek ballizein "to dance, jump about" (see ballistics). Hence, "very enjoyable time," 1945, American English slang, perhaps back to 1930s in black slang.

ball

1650s, "make into a ball," from ball (n.1). Sense of "to become like a ball" is 1713; that of "to copulate" is first recorded 1940s in jazz slang, either from the noun sense of "testicle" or "enjoyable time" (from ball (n.2)). Related: Balled; balling.

play ball in Medicine

ball

[bôl]

n.

A spherical object or mass.

A bezoar.

A large pill or bolus.

Idioms and Phrases with play ball

play ball

Cooperate, as in The opposing attorneys refused to play ball with us. [Slang; c. 1900]

Get going, start, as in It's time to get a move on; let's play ball. This usage comes from the baseball umpire's call to start a game. [Slang; late 1800s]

ball

In addition to the idioms beginning with ball

ball and chain
ball of fire
ball up

also see:

behind the eight ball
break one's balls
by the balls
carry the ball
crystal ball
drop the ball
eyeball to eyeball
get the ball rolling
have a ball
have one's eye on the ball
have someone by the balls
on the ball
play ball
put in mothballs
snowball's chance in hell
that's how the ball bounces
whole ball of wax