as in rolling
to form into a round compact mass
balled up the paper and threw it at the garbage can
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Recent Examples of balling
Eusexua offers a soundtrack for bedrooms and basements fit for balling and bawling sessions.
—
Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
And that may explain in part, argued Orysia Lutsevych, deputy director of the Russia-Eurasia program at Chatham House, why Russia is banking on slow-balling this new diplomatic push by the US, while making Trump believe it is still engaged.
—Clare Sebastian, CNN Money, 25 Nov. 2025
The defense was balling out and getting a lot of stops.
—Anne Erickson, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Nov. 2025
While there’s been huge contributions to this start for Los Angeles in all three phases, Herbert has been balling, just like McConkey says.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 12 Nov. 2025
But Wedgewood is balling out to start the season.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 18 Oct. 2025
In an eventual 57-point Hurricanes victory, Stevenson was balling and jabbering about it, too, to every Wildcats pass catcher within earshot.
—Dan Wiederer, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile, fire victims often complain that insurers and their adjusters are low-balling settlement offers.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 25 Sep. 2025
Apple has been low-balling its battery estimates for a while, though, and in our testing, the Series 10 lasted nearly 36 hours.
—PC Magazine, 10 Sep. 2025
Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
And that may explain in part, argued Orysia Lutsevych, deputy director of the Russia-Eurasia program at Chatham House, why Russia is banking on slow-balling this new diplomatic push by the US, while making Trump believe it is still engaged.
—Clare Sebastian, CNN Money, 25 Nov. 2025
The defense was balling out and getting a lot of stops.
—Anne Erickson, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Nov. 2025
While there’s been huge contributions to this start for Los Angeles in all three phases, Herbert has been balling, just like McConkey says.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 12 Nov. 2025
But Wedgewood is balling out to start the season.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 18 Oct. 2025
In an eventual 57-point Hurricanes victory, Stevenson was balling and jabbering about it, too, to every Wildcats pass catcher within earshot.
—Dan Wiederer, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile, fire victims often complain that insurers and their adjusters are low-balling settlement offers.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 25 Sep. 2025
Apple has been low-balling its battery estimates for a while, though, and in our testing, the Series 10 lasted nearly 36 hours.
—PC Magazine, 10 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for balling
Verb
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The rolling prairie outside the single-story clapboard home is where Lonny learned from their grandfather how to break horses.—
Katheryn Houghton,
NPR,
8 Jan. 2026
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And Blackhawk, a community of large homes in rolling hills where evacuation routes are limited, was in the line of fire from the 300 acres of volatile landscape, Aguiar said.—
Ethan Baron,
Mercury News,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Two offseasons ago, when Notre Dame was rounding out the roster that helped the Irish make a run to the national championship game, Indiana under Cignetti was more of an underdog story than a college football gate-crasher.—
Pete Sampson,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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By rounding out their 2025 season in fourth place in the NFC North, the Lions will play the fourth-place teams in the NFC East (New York Giants), the NFC West (Arizona Cardinals) and the AFC South (Tennessee Titans).—
Joseph Buczek,
CBS News,
5 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Balling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balling. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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