softball

noun

soft·​ball ˈsȯf(t)-ˌbȯl 

1

: a sport similar to baseball played on a small diamond with a ball that is larger than a baseball and that is pitched underhand

also : the ball used in this game

2

: a question requiring only an easy or simple response

softballer

ˈsȯf(t)-ˌbȯ-lər 

noun

Examples of softball in a Sentence

Do you want to play softball?

All the questions in the interview were softballs.

Recent Examples on the Web

Most will never go farther off road than carting beer to a rec league softball game, but some owners want more. —Mark Phelan, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025

Then, with a simple scroll of the mouse, the camera zooms in on two men playing softball on a field hundreds of yards in the distance. —Thomas Brewster, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025

Twice in the past five years, supermajorities of voters have turned down proposals to build new high school baseball and softball fields in Louisburg, Kansas, home of the Wildcats. —Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 2 Sep. 2025

Trombetta, 43, is a father of three, including a 14-year-old who plays on a club softball team. —Elliott Wenzler, Denver Post, 1 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1867, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for softball

• aldol
• armhole
• atoll
• awol
• backhaul
• banal
• baseball
• befall
• cabal
• catchall
• cecal
• centrale

Kids Definition

softball

noun

soft·​ball ˈsȯf(t)-ˌbȯl 

: baseball played on a small diamond with a ball that is larger than a baseball and that is pitched underhand

also : the ball used in this game