bola

noun

bo·​la ˈbō-lə 

variants or bolas

ˈbō-ləs 

plural bolas ˈbō-ləz  also bolases

: a cord with weights attached to the ends for throwing at and entangling an animal

Illustration of bola

Examples of bola in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

No one has seen the seventh kind, the fearsome Night Fury, until Hiccup manages to knock one out of the sky with a homemade bola contraption. —Peter Debruge, Variety, 9 June 2025

Arizona has a state firearm (the Colt Single Action revolver) and a state neckwear (the bola tie). —Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 28 Dec. 2024

The game is played in rounds, and each player has three bolas and must throw all three before the next player can go. —Moriah Mason, Southern Living, 31 Aug. 2023

Meanwhile Devin and Tori land their last bola and have to drink three smoothies before continuing on, and the projectile vomiting commences. —Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 2 Feb. 2023

Bananas and Nany then sabotage Olivia and Horacio with a smoothie, but Olivia somehow cuts her finger while throwing a bola and there's blood everywhere. —Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 2 Feb. 2023

First, during a bola-throwing competition, the karabiner connecting the rope to the balls got caught on Kaiser’s finger and sliced it open. —Emily Longeretta, Variety, 1 Feb. 2023

Axel Perez, his nephew, swings and sways atop the rolla bola, a platform balanced atop one or more rolling cylinders. —Alexis Soloski Seth Caplan, New York Times, 25 Nov. 2022

The rules are very simple: throw your bola (two balls connected by a string) onto the ladder and try to knock down your opponents' bolas. —Laura Wheatman Hill, chicagotribune.com, 3 Apr. 2021

Word History

Etymology

American Spanish bolas, from Spanish bola ball

First Known Use

1818, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing bola

• bola tie

Rhymes for bola

• cola
• colla
• gola
• hola
• mola
• nola
• ola
• schola
• sola
• ayatollah
• variola
• azolla

Kids Definition

bola

noun

bo·​la ˈbō-lə 

variants or bolas

-ləs 

plural bolas

-ləz

: a cord with weights attached to the ends for throwing at and entangling an animal

Etymology

American Spanish bolas "bola," from Spanish bola "ball"