ball game

noun

1

: a game played with a ball

2

a

: a set of circumstances : situation

a whole new ball game

b

: contest sense 1

Synonyms

• battle
• combat
• competition
• conflict
• confrontation
• contention
• contest
• dogfight
• duel
• face-off
• grapple
• match
• rivalry
• strife
• struggle
• sweepstakes
• sweep-stake
• tug-of-war
• war
• warfare

Examples of ball game in a Sentence

He was popular because he was good at ball games.

Dad took us to a ball game.

watching a ball game on TV

Recent Examples on the Web

Day games bring the heat Clark expressed concerns for players’ safety during ball games on an artificial turf because of Sacramento temperatures, which have been consistently high recently and often reach triple digits in the summer. —Elise Fisher, Sacramento Bee, 19 July 2024

But getting back into the rhythm of playing in the majors should only help the 26-year-old go deeper into ball games. —Kaushik Sampath, Miami Herald, 7 July 2024

But with Maya ball games, there were also ritual human sacrifices by decapitation or disembowelment—possibly of the winning team's captain. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 2 May 2024

But with Vice President Kamala Harris atop the Democratic ticket, election 2024 is a new ball game. —Mackenzie Sigalos,rebecca Picciotto, CNBC, 28 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1760, in the meaning defined at sense 1