balls 1 of 3

Definition of ballsnext
plural of ball
1
as in spheres
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 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

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balls

2 of 3

noun (2)

plural of ball

balls

3 of 3

verb

present tense third-person singular of ball
as in rounds
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 balls
Noun
Five of them will be white balls with numbers from 1 to 70. Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2026 The cannonball joins over 250,000 artifacts found at the site, the expert added, which mostly include ceramic pieces, musket balls, adobe floor fragments and glass bottles. Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 3 Apr. 2026 Originating in Belgium, the game is played by rolling cheese-wheel-like balls toward a feather at the end of the lane, according to Stephen Monahan, owner and brewer at Monolith Brewing. Brittany Anas, Denver Post, 3 Apr. 2026 The dark ride will pass through haunted hallways, magical dressing rooms and backstage chaos as riders dodge cannon balls, avoid shattered mirrors and escape a fiery boiler room. Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 3 Apr. 2026 Try starting your day with a bowl of oatmeal, adding oats to batters or smoothies, or using them when making veggie burgers or protein balls. Lauren Panoff, Verywell Health, 3 Apr. 2026 So not trying to foul those balls off and put them forward. Bill Plunkett, Daily News, 3 Apr. 2026 Scoop and gently shape mixture into 6 balls (about 1/2 cup each); do not flatten. Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 2 Apr. 2026 On a day when balls were not leaving the yard and hits to the warning track were rare, the Cubs still thrived. Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 2 Apr. 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
Verb
  • Ray Suen rounds out the sound with string arrangements performed on violin and viola.
    Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 3 Apr. 2026
  • Koch rounds out the crew as mission specialist.
    Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 1 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Godley rolls into state semis, blanks Greenwood Godley scored 2 goals in the first 3 minutes of the match as the Wildcats blanked Midland Greenwood 3-0 in the Class 4A Division 2 Region 1 Final on Tuesday at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene.
    Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Each completed humanoid robot rolls off the line roughly every 30 minutes, delivering about a 50 percent improvement in efficiency compared to traditional assembly methods.
    Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 31 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Balls.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balls. Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.

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