1
as in spheres
a more or less round body or mass
the little rubber ball used in racquetball a ball of string
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bullets
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
as in dances
a social gathering for dancing
a ball to celebrate the inauguration
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of balls
Jack Bantock, CNN Money, 5 June 2026
Apparently bumblebees really enjoy rolling balls for fun, but there is no evidence that bees in the wild might roll a ball into place to reach a flower for food.
—Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 4 June 2026
Five of them will be white balls numbered 1 to 69.
—Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 4 June 2026
Josh Hart scrapped for 50-50 balls, which resulted in four steals — three of them coming in the final period.
—Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 4 June 2026
Makki, 47, who cooks Lebanese dishes like couscous stews and traditional kibbeh balls in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn Heights, immigrated to Michigan in 1990.
—CBS News, 4 June 2026
Early on in his first five, six starts, there were a lot of balls in play, obviously some soft contact, balls at guys.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 30 May 2026
The remaining 10 teams that miss the playoffs and the play-in will all get three lottery balls — with the exception of the three worst teams in the standings.
—Tim Reynolds, Chicago Tribune, 29 May 2026
One can argue this incentive still exists for a team that has already traded its unprotected first-round pick, as going from three balls to two means better odds of being drawn later and a higher second-round pick.
—John Hollinger, New York Times, 29 May 2026
CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026
Arrange dough balls 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets.
—Holly Riordan, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Mar. 2026
Each team received their shipment of logo balls several weeks ago from the Wilson factory so that equipment managers would be able to properly prepare the footballs for their respective offenses.
—Kristi Scales
jan. 5, Dallas Morning News, 5 Jan. 2026
Place balls 3 inches apart on 3 large baking sheets lined with parchment paper (about 12 cookies per sheet).
—Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 27 Nov. 2025
Defense overall just balls Two.
—Miami Herald, 26 Oct. 2025
Noun
Clients hit a few balls in front of a launch monitor — a device that measures the physical data of a golf shot and club swing, and then feeds the findings in real time through an algorithm to generate club recommendations.
—Jack Bantock, CNN Money, 5 June 2026
Apparently bumblebees really enjoy rolling balls for fun, but there is no evidence that bees in the wild might roll a ball into place to reach a flower for food.
—Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 4 June 2026
Five of them will be white balls numbered 1 to 69.
—Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 4 June 2026
Josh Hart scrapped for 50-50 balls, which resulted in four steals — three of them coming in the final period.
—Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 4 June 2026
Makki, 47, who cooks Lebanese dishes like couscous stews and traditional kibbeh balls in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn Heights, immigrated to Michigan in 1990.
—CBS News, 4 June 2026
Early on in his first five, six starts, there were a lot of balls in play, obviously some soft contact, balls at guys.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 30 May 2026
The remaining 10 teams that miss the playoffs and the play-in will all get three lottery balls — with the exception of the three worst teams in the standings.
—Tim Reynolds, Chicago Tribune, 29 May 2026
One can argue this incentive still exists for a team that has already traded its unprotected first-round pick, as going from three balls to two means better odds of being drawn later and a higher second-round pick.
—John Hollinger, New York Times, 29 May 2026
Verb
The second and third outs were called third strikes, both of them initially balls before All-Star catcher Realmuto challenged through the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS), or so called robot umpires, that will be used in the regular season for the first time this year.
—CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026
Arrange dough balls 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets.
—Holly Riordan, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Mar. 2026
Each team received their shipment of logo balls several weeks ago from the Wilson factory so that equipment managers would be able to properly prepare the footballs for their respective offenses.
—Kristi Scales
jan. 5, Dallas Morning News, 5 Jan. 2026
Place balls 3 inches apart on 3 large baking sheets lined with parchment paper (about 12 cookies per sheet).
—Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 27 Nov. 2025
Defense overall just balls Two.
—Miami Herald, 26 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for balls
Noun
-
Craig points out that, unlike when creatives from other entertainment spheres like live theater get filmmaking opportunities, content creators come to Hollywood having cultivated an interactive relationship with an engaged fan base.—
Ryan Gajewski,
HollywoodReporter,
1 June 2026
-
The cognitive, social, and algorithmic biases that emerge from technology evolution directly influence the social and political spheres.—
Paulo Nuno VicenteAll,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
26 May 2026
Noun
-
Carney said antisemites in Canada have fired bullets at Jewish schools and thrown firebombs at synagogues and attacked community centers.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
2 June 2026
-
According to the police report, his first three bullets hit Canty, Allen, and Ramseur.—
Kevin Lozano,
Harpers Magazine,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
These die-hard fans memorize songs, dances, and individual cheers for each player to keep the energy high, and their antics are at least as interesting as the action on the field.—
Jessica Kozuka,
Travel + Leisure,
1 June 2026
-
Also, get the chance to watch traditional dances.—
Hema Sivanandam,
Mercury News,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
France’s Massif Central rounds out the European picks with dormant volcanoes, deep river gorges and lush plateaus.—
Hanna Wickes,
Miami Herald,
4 June 2026
-
Beyond those features, the Captain's Crunch rounds out its list of 11 functions with regular pliers, standard and hard wire cutters integrated into the plier assembly, a wire stripper below on the swing arm between handles, and a pin vise function at the tips of the pliers.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
In another Amsterdam photo, a pair of identical world globes, recalling Ghirri’s passion for cartography and atlases, rest on matching supports to conjure that oldest of surrealist tropes, a pair of staring eyes.—
James Quandt,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
-
Besides dusting, this includes wiping off the lightbulbs, removing any light globes to wash and dry them, and wiping dust from the fan’s motor and pull chain with a microfiber cloth.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
So do the large pink or queen conch, the fighting conch, the tulip band shell, the helmet shells and the cask shells.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 June 2026
-
The massive gun, which was transported in two pieces and took as many as eight hours to set up, could hurl 360-pound shells as far as 14 miles.—
Kevin Maurer,
The Atlantic,
6 June 2026
Noun
-
That philosophy extends across the property and informs its relationship with the local community, many of whom experienced the hotel through proms, weddings and milestone events over the decades.—
Jesse Scott,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
-
Year after year, high school proms become more over the top, from elaborate prom-posals to full-on photoshoots.—
Jermont Terry,
CBS News,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
Video from the storm showed rain and wind that reached speeds of 40 mph tearing up a tent, with one person flying through the air while trying to hold it down as another person rolls uncontrollably down a hill.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
7 June 2026
-
If someone already uses a wheelchair, the home may already work well for a robot that rolls.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
6 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Balls.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balls. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
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