on the ball

phrase

1

: competent, knowledgeable, alert

… the other introductory essay … is much more on the ball.

—The 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 much …

—New Yorker

Examples of on the ball in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Late in extra time, Tielemans and opponent Lamine Camara converged on the ball. — Graham Scott, New York Times, 22 July 2026

Catcher Daniel Susac pounced on the ball and delivered a perfect strike to second base. — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 21 July 2026

When Lammens stopped a shot in the 88th minute by Pau Cubarsi, Merino got to the ball fast enough to get his boot on the ball to create the go-ahead goal. — Andrew Greif, NBC news, 10 July 2026

Rhymes for on the ball

• aerosol
• alcohol
• arbitral
• basketball
• butanol
• cannonball
• carbinol
• cortisol
• ethanol
• fireball
• gasohol
• gossypol