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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

The white plastic ball, the size of a tennis ball, is packed with ball bearings that rattle as it rolls.

From Barron's Nov. 22, 2025

When Glenn relents and calls the Mrs. for approval, Rickey sprints to the nearby desert and scoops up some dirt in a Wilson tennis ball canister.

From Salon Apr. 11, 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

I slam the tennis ball into the backboard, trying my best not to think about anything.

From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

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