play ball

Idioms  

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

2. 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

Still, with more American buyers demanding this type of transparency, Chinese trading companies have to play ball or risk losing business, lawyers say.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 28, 2026

"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

She misses Rod—the old Rod who used to play ball with us when we were kids.

From "Boy21" by Matthew Quick