cue ball

noun

: the ball a player strikes with the cue in billiards and pool

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Images of Io’s next-door neighbor, Europa, revealed another utterly unexpected landscape: smooth as a cue ball and nearly as white, except for a network of thin, faint brownish fractures. Corey S Powell, Discover Magazine, 24 Feb. 2016 The outlier is a cue ball signed by pool hustler Minnesota Fats. John Sandman, WSJ, 30 Nov. 2022 The whole set comes with a cue ball, 15 regulation balls, a ball rack, two cue sticks, 2 pieces of cue chalk and a felt brush. Kelley Rebori, Popular Mechanics, 20 Sep. 2022 Without sweat to help his grip, Scherzer said the baseball felt like a cue ball in his hand. New York Times, 20 Apr. 2022 And what about the initial velocity of the cue ball? Rhett Allain, Wired, 17 Dec. 2021 Inside the car’s purposeful cockpit is a manual stick shift, topped with a traditional black cue ball on a chrome shaft, diligently clunked through a heavy slotted five-speed gate with Reverse located at the top left. Robert Ross, Robb Report, 5 Apr. 2021 Their mother swooped in, her white head glistening in the late afternoon sunshine like a cue ball under bar lights. Sebastian Modak, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 July 2020 Even better, the Mach 1's shift knob is the same retro white cue ball as the Bullitt. Connor Hoffman, Car and Driver, 16 June 2020 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cue 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

First Known Use

1881, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cue ball was in 1881

Dictionary Entries Near cue ball

Cite this Entry

“Cue ball.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cue%20ball. Accessed 1 Apr. 2023.

Kids Definition

cue ball

noun
: the ball a player strikes with the cue in billiards or pool
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!


Which Came First?

  • baby chick with a brown egg
  • hot take or cold shoulder?
True or False

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can with using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.

Can you make 12 words with 7 letters?

PLAY