screwball
Americannoun
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Slang. an eccentric or irrational person; a nut.
When the FBI first looked into him, they thought he was a harmless screwball.
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Baseball. a pitched ball that curves toward the side of the plate from which it was thrown, in a trajectory opposite to that of a curve ball.
Has the once popular screwball vanished completely from the major leagues?
adjective
noun
adjective
Etymology
Origin of screwball
First recorded in 1865–70; in 1935–40 screwball for def. 2; screw + ball 1
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.
In “Trouble,” she buzzes with nervous energy, her dizzying delivery of Raphaelson’s smart dialogue creating the template for the screwball heroines soon to follow.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
Despite the screwball setup, “The Hitch” is, as much as anything, a moving meditation on loneliness, longing and familial short leashes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026
"The Residence" is an "Upstairs, Downstairs" screwball murder mystery set in the East Wing, the residence wing of the White House, during an Australian state dinner.
From Salon • Apr. 2, 2025
But instead of it finding Doncic or any Lakers player, it badly curved toward the courtside seats, a screwball turnover in a game littered with mistakes.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2025
The nation’s corner theaters hosted 85 million people a week for 25-cent viewings of an endless array of cheery musicals and screwball comedies.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
