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tennis ball

American  

noun

tennis balls plural
  1. a hollow ball used in tennis, made of rubber with a fuzzy covering of woven Dacron, nylon, or wool.


tennis ball British  

noun

  1. a hollow rubber ball covered with felt, used in tennis

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of tennis ball

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

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.

See Examples For:

The Amaterasu particle was reported at about 240 exa-electron volts, giving one tiny cosmic-ray particle roughly the kinetic energy of a fast-moving tennis ball.

From Science Daily Jun. 9, 2026

Blind cricket relies on a sharp ear, as players must detect a white plastic ball -- the size of a tennis ball -- filled with ball bearings that rattle as it moves.

From Barron's Nov. 16, 2025

The fuzzy ball looks like a tennis ball but has a slightly lower PSI, meaning it’s a little flatter and less bouncy.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 27, 2025

Going from seeing grass, everything is cut for you, you have got new balls - now I am maybe playing with a flat football, playing with a tennis ball or a golf ball.

From BBC Mar. 7, 2025

Dixie trotted up with a slobbery tennis ball.

From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn

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