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ground ball

noun
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Definition of ground ball

: a batted baseball that bounds or rolls along the ground

Examples of ground ball in a Sentence

He hit a ground ball to the shortstop.
Recent Examples on the Web There won’t be many fly balls or ground balls that will be eluding Harrison. — Robert Avery, Houston Chronicle, "Another Harrison ready to make big baseball splash, starting with trip to Arizona," 23 Dec. 2019 The rookie, chosen to start over all-star Jake Odorizzi because of his ability to induce ground balls, gave up a run in the first and escaped the second unscathed despite putting on a pair of baserunners. — Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, "Seven-run inning lifts Yankees past Twins 8-2 in Game 2," 5 Oct. 2019 The keys for the Cannons this season have been limiting turnovers and winning races to ground balls. — BostonGlobe.com, "A 22-9 loss to Denver Aug. 31 was a wakeup call for Boston, which had subdued the Outlaws, 16-13, in a trip to Denver earlier in the month.," 4 Oct. 2019 Brewster, an attacker, scored a team-best 36 goals and had 13 ground balls. — Daily Pilot, "Newport Harbor’s Delaney Knipp earns Sunset League girls’ lacrosse Player of the Year," 27 Aug. 2019 The Marlins were in position to take the lead two batters later, but second baseman Hernán Pérez threw home on a ground ball to cut down a sliding Miguel Rojas. — Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Brewers 3, Marlins 2: A good time for Ryan Braun and a great time to be on a roll," 12 Sep. 2019 In logging his best start in a month, Kelly got an assist from lefty Andrew Chafin, who entered with the score 4-1 and the bases loaded in the sixth and retired Brandon Crawford on a ground ball to the right side. — Nick Piecoro, azcentral, "Diamondbacks ride roller coaster, strong Merrill Kelly outing to beat Giants," 18 Aug. 2019 Evan Longoria singled, Stephen Vogt doubled and pinch-hitting Alex Dickerson plated another run on a ground ball against Yusmeiro Petit to put the Giants within two. — Shayna Rubin, The Mercury News, "Matt Chapman homers twice in Oakland Athletics’ win over Giants," 14 Aug. 2019 With a ground ball in play, the conversation had to end. — Nick Kelly, BostonGlobe.com, "First base is the spot for some infield chatter," 13 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ground ball.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of ground ball

1857, in the meaning defined above

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Time Traveler for ground ball

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The first known use of ground ball was in 1857

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Statistics for ground ball

Last Updated

19 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Ground ball.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ground%20ball. Accessed 20 January 2020.

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More Definitions for ground ball

ground ball

noun

English Language Learners Definition of ground ball

baseball : a ball that is hit by the batter and that rolls or bounces along the ground

See the full definition for ground ball in the English Language Learners Dictionary

More from Merriam-Webster on ground ball

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about ground ball

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