1
as in sphere
a more or less round body or mass
the little rubber ball used in racquetball a ball of string
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bullet
a usually round or cone-shaped little piece of lead made to be fired from a firearm
found a cache of musket balls while excavating the old fort
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of ball
Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 5 Apr. 2026
When the ball missed, the mascots howled with laughter; one of them, a big yellow mountain lion, pounded the ground.
—Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2026
Stan Son, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2026
Arrange dough balls 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets.
—Holly Riordan, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ball
Noun
Sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce your way.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 5 Apr. 2026
When the ball missed, the mascots howled with laughter; one of them, a big yellow mountain lion, pounded the ground.
—Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2026
Verb
Isaiah Collier, who was balling out and playing 34 minutes a night, is most impacted.
—Stan Son, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2026
Arrange dough balls 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets.
—Holly Riordan, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ball
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ball
Verb
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During the period in between the two imaging opportunities, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen lost contact with Houston Ground Control for around 40 minutes as the Orion spacecraft rounded the far side of the moon.—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
7 Apr. 2026
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Other burgers and hot or cold sandwiches round out the lunch menu, which caters to a revolving door of workers on their lunch breaks.—
Camila Pedrosa,
Sacbee.com,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Khloe Pereira went 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs, while Leah Perez finished 2-for-5 with a walk and four runs as Greater New Bedford (2-0) rolled to a 14-5 win over Dartmouth.—
Jack Murray,
Boston Herald,
4 Apr. 2026
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Bocce — an ancient Roman sport that evolved into a popular Italian lawn-bowling game — has rolled into breweries and bars, too.—
Brittany Anas,
Denver Post,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ball.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ball. Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.
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