BALLS Synonyms: 80 Similar and Opposite Words

balls 1 of 3

noun (1)

plural of ball

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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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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blanks

balls

2 of 3

noun (2)

plural of ball

as in dances

a social gathering for dancing a ball to celebrate the inauguration

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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

OpenAI’s paper improves the best estimate for how tightly these balls can possibly be packed. — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 6 Aug. 2026 Now boys chased soccer balls across the square that was once a battlefield. — Lina Sergie Attar, Time, 6 Aug. 2026 Mimicking tangled seaweed For the design, the scientists drew inspiration from floating mats of seaweed and naturally occurring Neptune balls. — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 5 Aug. 2026 What is the Woodland Hills restaurant dethroning Porto’s famous potato balls? — Laurie Ochoa, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2026 Carlos Alcaraz has started hitting tennis balls in earnest for the first time since April, but the Cincinnati Open will come too soon for its defending champion. — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026 Scoop or roll your dough into balls (½ cup or 2 ¾ ounce ice cream scoop in size) and place 2 to 3 inches apart on your prepared sheets. — Shafiq Najib, ABC News, 4 Aug. 2026 To understand why, picture atoms and molecules as spherical balls. — Robin MacAluso, The Conversation, 3 Aug. 2026 Local police used pepper balls to disperse the crowd and arrested about 30 people. — Meg Anderson, NPR, 3 Aug. 2026

Verb

Bassey signs, Ike balls out An hour after the Warriors officially signed reserve center Charles Bassey to a one-year deal, Graham Ike did his best to show that the backup center position should still be considered in flux. — Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 10 July 2026 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

LipLift is powered by the brand’s proprietary Hyaluron Peptide-6 BioFill, a topical volumizing technology formulated with six advanced biomimetic peptides, hyaluronic acid oil, poly-hyaluronic acid filling spheres and bioidentical skin lipids.

— Kathryn Hopkins, Footwear News, 4 Aug. 2026
Today, various combinations are packed into cardboard spheres or cylinders—shells—along with fuses coated in a flammable slurry, then sealed inside kraft paper and shot from fibreglass mortars.

— Paige Williams, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of spheres

Noun

Hard kills encompass nets, interceptors, bullets and other objects that physically take drones out of action in midair.

— Zita Ballinger Fletcher, Forbes.com, 30 July 2026
The revelations from the court documents filed on July 29 in King County, Washington, also revealed that investigators believe four firearms were used to shoot bullets at the festival, based on preliminary reviews of casings found at the scene.

— Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 30 July 2026

Definition of bullets

Verb

Jang Gyu-ri rounds out the central trio as Hong Jae-in, a gifted viola major struggling to find her own signature sound.

— Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
Daniel Susac #6 of the San Francisco Giants rounds the bases after hitting a home run in the second inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Oracle Park on July 29, 2026 in San Francisco.

— CBS News, CBS News, 30 July 2026

Definition of rounds

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

Definition of globes

Noun

Mice with full-size rear shells can restrict in-hand corrections for some claw and fingertip players.

— Mark Sparrow, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026
Built at an unprecedented pace, all ten structural shells were printed in just 58 days, keeping the entire project on a rapid nine-month timeline from initial contract award to final delivery.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 31 July 2026

Definition of shells

Noun

Dunkin’ Prom, which funds alternative proms for teens who may have missed theirs for medical reasons and lastly, grants to customize hospital spaces to create joy.

— Zuri Primos June 29, Kansas City Star, 29 June 2026
Their stores specialize in dresses for proms, weddings, special occasions and quinceañeras.

— Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2026