ball

1 of 3

noun (1)

often attributive
1
: a round or roundish body or mass: such as
a
: a spherical or ovoid body used in a game or sport
a tennis ball
used figuratively in phrases like the ball is in your court to indicate who has the responsibility or opportunity for further action
b
c
: a spherical or conical projectile
also : projectiles used in firearms
d
: a roundish protuberant anatomical structure (as near the tip of a human finger or toe or at the base of a thumb)
especially : the part of the sole of the human foot between the toes and arch on which the main weight of the body rests in normal walking
2
a
usually vulgar : testis
b balls plural
(1)
often vulgar : nonsense
often used interjectionally
(2)
often vulgar : nerve sense 3
3
: a game in which a ball is thrown, kicked, or struck
also : quality of play in such a game
4
a
: a pitch not swung at by the batter that fails to pass through the strike zone
b
: a hit or thrown ball in various games
foul ball

ball

2 of 3

verb

balled; balling

transitive verb

1
: to form or gather into a ball
balled the paper into a wad
2
usually vulgar : to have sexual intercourse with

intransitive verb

1
: to form or gather into a ball
2
usually vulgar : to engage in sexual intercourse
3
US, informal : to play basketball
Common shot all his own scenes on the hardwood, balling against NBA superstars Dwyane Wade and Dwight Howard.Chris Richards

ball

3 of 3

noun (2)

1
: a large formal gathering for social dancing
2
: a very pleasant experience : a good time
everyone had a ball at the wedding
Phrases
on the ball
1
: competent, knowledgeable, alert
the other introductory essay … is much more on the ballThe Times Literary Supplement (London)
keep on the ball
2
: of ability or competence
if the teacher has something on the ball, the pupils won't squirm muchNew Yorker

Examples of ball in a Sentence

Verb I stood up quickly and balled my hands into fists. He balled the letter in his hands and threw it in the trash.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
One room over, in the kitchen and dining area, walls and ceiling were a soft pink, with oversized copper light fixtures and the aforementioned disco ball. The Indianapolis Star, 21 Mar. 2024 When Tatis caught the ball, Ohtani didn’t retag the bag on his way back to first base and was ruled out. Dylan Hernández, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024 Whoever picks all five numbers and the Mega ball will have the option of taking that payout over 29 annual payments or can opt for a one-time lump sum of $461 million. Bychris Morris, Fortune, 20 Mar. 2024 Thanks for adventuring around the globe with me and taking care of our little fluff ball. Skyler Caruso, Peoplemag, 20 Mar. 2024 Players can pick six numbers from two separate pools of numbers: five different numbers from the white balls numbered 1-70 and one number from the gold balls numbered 1-25. 5 + 1 = Jackpot. 5 + 0 = $1 million. 4 + 1 = $10,000. 4 + 0 = $500. Victoria Moorwood, The Enquirer, 20 Mar. 2024 To play, select five numbers from 1 to 69 for the white balls, then select one number from 1 to 26 for the red Powerball. Victoria Moorwood, The Enquirer, 10 Mar. 2024 Five numbers will be white balls ranging from numbers 1 to 69. USA TODAY, 9 Mar. 2024 Quartz Hill 4, Highland 0: Ismael Quintero threw hitless ball for 6 2/3 innings to lead Quartz Hill. Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ball.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English bal, probably from Old English *beall; akin to Old English bealluc testis, Old High German balla ball, Old Norse bǫllr, Old English blāwan to blow — more at blow

Noun (2)

borrowed from French bal, going back to Old French, "dance, social gathering for dancing," noun derivative of baler, baller "to dance," going back to Late Latin ballāre, probably borrowed, with truncation of suffix, from Greek ballízein "to throw, fling," later, "to take part in revelry, make merry," from bállein "to throw, let fly, place" + -izein -ize — more at devil entry 1

Note: The Greek verb ballízein has ancient attestation solely in two Sicilian authors of mimes, Epicharmus and Sophron (5th-early 4th centuries B.C.), and the comic poet Alexis (late 3rd-2nd centuries B.C.). Their work survives only in fragments. The word most likely means "to throw, fling" in these texts, an interpretation that appears to be confirmed by the Latin word ballista, "military engine designed to hurl projectiles" (see ballista), which is taken as a loan from unattested Greek *ballistā́s or *ballistḗs. The base of this noun, formed with the agent suffix -tēs/-tās, would be an underlying verb *ballid-, whence the present stem balliz- in ballízein. (Compare baptízein "to baptize" : baptistḗs baptist and scores of other derivatives.) The verb ballízein reappears in the Deipnosophistae ("Learned Banqueters") of Athenaeus of Naucratis (early 3rd century A.D.) as the subject of a discussion of its authenticity as Greek; it is taken as a synonym of kōmázein "to take part in communal revelry, make merry," or choreúein "to celebrate with dancing." Presumably some undocumented shift of senses has taken place, perhaps from "hurl, fling" to "move off rapidly, rush off" to "move about, go round" to "make merry, take part in celebratory revelry" to "dance." The latter sense would be the germ of Late Latin ballāre, which first appears in a sermon of Augustine of Hippo. For Augustine and later Church Fathers the activity denoted by the verb, whether dancing in a strict sense or more general revelry, is not suitable for Christians, perhaps due to pagan associations. See H. Paessens, "Das Verhältnis von βαλλίζω, βάλλω und ballare," Rheinisches Museum für Philologie, Neue Folge, 90. Band, 2. Heft (1941), pp. 146-56.

First Known Use

Noun (1)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1577, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (2)

1605, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of ball was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near ball

Cite this Entry

“Ball.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ball. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

ball

1 of 3 noun
1
a
: something round or roundish
a ball of twine
b
: a usually round object used in a game or sport
c
: a usually round shot for a firearm
d
: the rounded bulge at the base of the thumb
also : the rounded wide part of the bottom of the human foot between the toes and arch
2
: a game or sport (as baseball) played with a ball
play ball
3
: a pitched baseball that fails to pass through the strike zone and is not struck at by the batter

ball

2 of 3 verb
: to make or come together into a ball

ball

3 of 3 noun
: a large formal party for dancing
Etymology

Noun

Middle English bal "ball"

Noun

from French bal "a dance," derived from Latin ballare "to dance" — related to ballet

Medical Definition

ball

1 of 2 noun
: a round or roundish body or mass: as
a
: a roundish protuberant part of the body: as
(1)
: the rounded eminence by which the base of the thumb is continuous with the palm of the hand
(2)
: the rounded broad part of the sole of the human foot between toes and arch and on which the main weight of the body first rests in normal walking
(3)
: the padded rounded underside of a human finger or toe near the tip
b
c
often vulgar : testis
d
: a large pill (as one used in veterinary medicine) : bolus

ball

2 of 2 transitive verb
: to give a medicinal ball to (as a horse)

Biographical Definition

Ball 1 of 2

biographical name (1)

John died 1381 English priest and social agitator

Ball

2 of 2

biographical name (2)

Lucille (Désirée) 1911–1989 American actress and comedienne

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