ball

1 a more or less round body or mass the little rubber ball used in racquetball a ball of string Synonyms globe, orb, sphere Related Words bead, globule; egg, ellipse, loop, oval, spheroid; circle, ring, rondure, round; chunk, clump, gob, hunk, lump, nugget, wad Near Antonyms block, cube, rectangle, square

2 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 ball, pelletRelated Words ammunition, cannonball, cap, cartridge, charge, dumdum, gunshot, lead, load, missile, pop, projectile, round, shell, shot, slugNear Antonyms blank

a social gathering for dancing a ball to celebrate the inauguration Synonyms ball, cotillion (also cotillon), formal, hop, promRelated Words blowout, celebration, event, festival, festivity, fete (or fête), gala, masque (also mask), masquerade, mixer, party, reception, shindig, soiree (or soirée); hoedown, square dance

to form into a round compact mass balled up the paper and threw it at the garbage can Synonyms agglomerate, wad, roll, roundRelated Words bunch, clump, lump; bead, pearl, pellet, pelletize; sphereNear Antonyms flatten, open, smooth, spread, unfoldAntonyms unroll