play ball
Idioms-
Cooperate, as in The opposing attorneys refused to play ball with us . [ Slang ; c. 1900]
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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]
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.
Current and former officials said that Russia’s increasing reliance on China means Beijing could play a productive role in bringing Putin to any peace deal—if Trump can convince it to play ball, that is.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 13, 2025
"But there is also something else, something more practical which is that we simply cannot solve a challenge like stopping the boats by acting alone and telling our allies that we won't play ball."
From BBC • Jul. 10, 2025
And there’s the whole other theme here where it would appear that Adams was coached by Bove to essentially offer: I’ll really play ball on immigration if you’ll dismiss the cases.
From Slate • Feb. 14, 2025
"That helps the whole ecosystem know where it's okay to play ball and where it's not," Farmer told the TV station.
From Salon • Jan. 21, 2025
It’s still absolutely scary to play ball, to compete, to try to win.
From "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
