ball 1 of 3

Definition of ballnext
1
as in sphere
a more or less round body or mass the little rubber ball used in racquetball a ball of string

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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

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ball

2 of 3

noun (2)

ball

3 of 3

verb

as in to round
to form into a round compact mass balled up the paper and threw it at the garbage can

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ball
Noun
Haiti's Derrick Etienne (7) battles for the ball with Brazil's Danilo (13) during the World Cup Group C soccer match. Andrew Ramos, CBS News, 20 June 2026 Aranda slapped an outside changeup on a line down the leftfield line, and the ball struck the screen on the fair side of foul pole for a three-run homer. Marc Topkin, The Orlando Sentinel, 20 June 2026
Verb
Power couples ball against each other on the court or support each other from the sidelines. Yohana Desta, Vanity Fair, 7 May 2026 Bryce Young was balling though. Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 25 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for ball
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ball
Noun
  • People around Putin cannot afford to step outside their sphere of responsibility or encroach on someone else’s interests (with some exceptions in the military and security services).
    Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 18 June 2026
  • Glass, an undrafted rookie, has some appeal in the long-term developmental sphere, similar to Hecht and Samac.
    Mike Kaye June 16, Charlotte Observer, 16 June 2026
Noun
  • Because of the bullets that pierced his mother, he was deprived of blood and oxygen for critical minutes just prior to his birth.
    Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 22 June 2026
  • Pitman waited as the debtor, a construction worker, transferred a reflective vest, a jug of water, a pair of shoes, a backpack, and a sack of nine-millimetre bullets to the garage.
    Paige Williams, New Yorker, 22 June 2026
Noun
  • The dance goes on for most of the movie, with Naim — who possesses all the naïveté of a teenage boy in love — continuing to hope the person in front of him is the real Ryan.
    Arushi Jacob, Variety, 19 June 2026
  • Each and every one of the tunes from Confessions II have become chart hits in the United States and bestsellers on one of Billboard's dance tallies.
    Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026
Verb
  • Shopping Amazon Prime Day clothing deals is always about snagging wardrobe essentials, and maybe a few seasonal buys to round out the mix.
    Kristina Rutkowski, Vogue, 24 June 2026
  • Boise’s Trilogy Development is requesting to annex an additional 27 acres on the eastern portion of the site to round out the development.
    Rose Evans Updated June 23, Idaho Statesman, 23 June 2026
Noun
  • That happens when the wet-bulb globe temperature, which includes temperature, humidity, cloud cover and wind, reads above about 95 degrees, though some people will be more heat tolerant.
    Dorany Pineda, Chicago Tribune, 19 June 2026
  • Around a quarter of the games at this year’s competition are expected to be played above 26 degrees Celsius, or nearly 79 degrees Fahrenheit, on the wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) scale, according to an analysis by the climate science group World Weather Attribution.
    Chris Stokel-Walker, Scientific American, 19 June 2026
Noun
  • The seizures added up to about 420 grams of cocaine, $2,291 in cash, a rifle, four pistols, various magazines and ammunition, and digital scales and packaging materials believed to be used in narcotics distribution, the sheriff's office said.
    Paula Wethington, CBS News, 23 June 2026
  • These attacks can strain traditional air defense systems, which usually depend on expensive interceptors and have limited ammunition.
    Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 23 June 2026
Noun
  • Reynolds distilled the script down to feature length, keeping the iconic tropes of the genre like the prom, the school play, finals, and graduation all intact.
    Matthew Huff, IndieWire, 17 June 2026
  • Imagine having the guts to wear separates to your prom!
    James Mercadante, Entertainment Weekly, 17 June 2026
Verb
  • Hail pelted several central Minnesota communities as storms rolled through on Friday afternoon and evening.
    Nick Lentz, CBS News, 20 June 2026
  • Basallo misjudged it, taking an unhurried shuffle up the line, before the ball glanced off his glove and rolled toward the Dodgers dugout.
    Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Ball.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ball. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.

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