SINCE 1828

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

long ball

noun

Definition of long ball

: home run

See long ball defined for English-language learners

Examples of long ball in a Sentence

a pitcher who has given up a lot of long balls

First Known Use of long ball

1938

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up long ball? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

WORD OF THE DAY

scapegrace

play

an incorrigible rascal

Words at Play

alt-5951697e1a410

When To Use 'Specious' vs. 'Spurious'

These similar words are not interchangeable

alt-594bf2ec5f26e

Quick: Read This!

'Quick' once had a very different meaning

alt-594d2b6325245

'Pride': The Word That Went From Vice to Strength

Do you take pride in Pride?

Pink: The Color that Will Change Your Life

From Fuchsia to Baker-Miller Pink

Ask the Editors

Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?

Language changes

The Serial Comma

Why don't they call it the Merriam-Webster comma?

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless

Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals

Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

istock-refers-to-this-as-a-tumble-of-strawberries-which-sounded-pretty-nice-to-us

June 2017 Words of the Day Quiz

Summer's first WOTD quiz.

Take the quiz

alt-5941ad7527c3c

Yearbook Superlatives Quiz

Is that your picture under "Largest Vocabulary"?

Take the quiz

True or False?

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

Take the quiz

SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!

Play the game

Examples: long ball in a Sentence