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
How to play the Powerball To play, select five numbers from 1 to 69 for the white balls, then select one number from 1 to 26 for the red Powerball. Lorenzino Estrada, AZCentral.com, 7 Mar. 2026 How to play Mega Millions Player can pick six numbers from two separate pools of numbers — five different numbers from 1 to 70 (the white balls) and one number from 1 to 24 (the gold Mega Mall). Tanya Wildt, Freep.com, 7 Mar. 2026 On Tuesday, Freeny banged for loose balls and rebounds and helped limit Cornhuskers’ guard Pryce Sandfort to nine points on nine field-goal attempts. Aaron Heisen, Daily News, 6 Mar. 2026 Four of the nine balls Carter has put in play this spring have left the bat at 102 mph or harder. Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News, 6 Mar. 2026 How to play Powerball To play, select five numbers from 1 to 69 for the white balls, then select one number from 1 to 26 for the red Powerball. Cheryl Vari, Cincinnati Enquirer, 5 Mar. 2026 The future of earthquake-proofing might just be a simple cylinder filled with steel balls. Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 5 Mar. 2026 In typical 30 Rock fashion, the bit reaches the height of absurdity when someone informs Arthur that some of the tennis balls are meant to be actual tennis balls in the scene. Eliana Dockterman, Time, 5 Mar. 2026 Many of them came from getting on the end of balls into the box via clever runs in behind defences. Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 5 Mar. 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
  • Paris Baguette rounds out the experience with coffee and delicate pastries.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Mar. 2026
  • The MagSafe 3 charging port rounds out the connections, offering snag-proof power and fast charging.
    Brian Westover, PC Magazine, 4 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • The Dallas Cowboys waived defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey on Thursday afternoon as the offseason roster churn rolls along.
    SportsDay Staff, Dallas Morning News, 5 Mar. 2026
  • With this approach, a credit counselor negotiates with your creditors to reduce interest rates and fees and rolls your payments into one monthly amount.
    Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 4 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Balls.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balls. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.

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