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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

He’d rather knock a tennis ball around than debate the latest goings-on in Washington.

From Los Angeles Times Oct. 19, 2025

"Akash mostly played with a tennis ball, but whenever we took him along for a leather-ball match, he would always help us win. But Akash thought that only the rich could play cricket."

From BBC Jul. 29, 2025

I put the tennis ball in front of his face so he’s clear about what we’re doing before I let him out.

From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen

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