as in rolled
to form into a round compact mass
balled up the paper and threw it at the garbage can
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 balled
Veronica Hinke,
Baltimore Sun,
14 June 2026
Jokic came off a pin-down from Braun to catch on the right wing — again making Gobert chase him around a screen — but air-balled the 3-pointer.
—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
23 Apr. 2026
Bare root trees and shrubs, as the name suggests, are not sold in a pot or balled and burlapped.
—
Dr. Lauren Kurtz,
Hartford Courant,
21 Feb. 2026
Pare raised both hands, balled in fists, pumping away.
—
Brendan Quinn,
New York Times,
12 Feb. 2026
The Knicks had a chance to cut Phoenix’s lead down to just four with under a minute left in regulation, but Karl-Anthony Towns air-balled a wide-open three at the top of the key.
—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
18 Jan. 2026
Trump's pin features a cartoon version of himself with his mouth open, brows furrowed and fists balled at his sides.
—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
10 Jan. 2026
Pre-dug and balled include white pine, Norway spruce, and Colorado blue spruce.
—
Gege Reed,
Louisville Courier Journal,
21 Nov. 2025
Her brother cannon-balled off a rock to join her.
—
Brianna Randall,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
Lord described Walter Bedford as the night baker who cannon-balled into the ocean in chapter 6.
—
Veronica Hinke,
Baltimore Sun,
14 June 2026
Jokic came off a pin-down from Braun to catch on the right wing — again making Gobert chase him around a screen — but air-balled the 3-pointer.
—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
23 Apr. 2026
Bare root trees and shrubs, as the name suggests, are not sold in a pot or balled and burlapped.
—
Dr. Lauren Kurtz,
Hartford Courant,
21 Feb. 2026
Pare raised both hands, balled in fists, pumping away.
—
Brendan Quinn,
New York Times,
12 Feb. 2026
The Knicks had a chance to cut Phoenix’s lead down to just four with under a minute left in regulation, but Karl-Anthony Towns air-balled a wide-open three at the top of the key.
—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
18 Jan. 2026
Trump's pin features a cartoon version of himself with his mouth open, brows furrowed and fists balled at his sides.
—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
10 Jan. 2026
Pre-dug and balled include white pine, Norway spruce, and Colorado blue spruce.
—
Gege Reed,
Louisville Courier Journal,
21 Nov. 2025
Her brother cannon-balled off a rock to join her.
—
Brianna Randall,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for balled
Adjective
-
Cinching the shirt was a thick brown belt featuring reptilian detailing and a large rounded buckle.
-
The cost of acquiring those first users rounded to nothing, because Meta was not acquiring anyone.
Verb
-
His 17-foot birdie chance on the 18th rolled along the right edge of the cup at perfect speed and didn’t drop.
-
Neither team scored after López snapped a 1-all tie in the fourth when his line drive rolled to the warning track in right and scored Stowers from first.
Adjective
-
While the design was certainly understated, there was a touch of whimsy in the bulbous light fixtures and swirly, contemporary art pieces.
-
Behind the glass sat a sea-foam green Hermes 3000, a pre-1966 model, instantly recognizable by its bulbous body and soft, swelling curves.
Verb
-
The Socks Are Inside Other Clothes Did the sock actually enter another space-time continuum—or did it get wadded up in someone's pant leg?
Adjective
-
Some dots resemble pairs of eyes; others appear as overlapping roundish figures.
-
Bieber’s stage was large, roundish, and mostly bare, with a hilly ridge around the edges.
Adjective
-
The mostly spherical design also resembles its main rival, the Echo Dot Max, but while Amazon's speaker offers touch controls on a small concave plastic panel on the front, the Google Home Speaker hides them under a colorful, mesh surface to maintain a uniform look on the upper part of the device.
-
Known as the Galactic Center Excess, a spherical gamma-ray glow extending out for thousands of light-years from the core of our galaxy, this high-energy light has baffled researchers for over a decade.
Adjective
-
The pieces are abstract but appear to show featureless human figures sitting atop globular, cloud-like shapes that float in the air.
-
Nike engineered the globular Air units to be flexible and low to the ground.
Adjective
-
The doc noted that Winne The Pooh is banned in China after its president was once compared to the rotund bear of the classic children’s story.
-
Joe Gargery, comparing slices of bread; the rotund voice of Mr Jaggers in Great Expectations.
Cite this Entry
“Balled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balled. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
