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ball - 18 dictionary results

ball

1  [bawl]
Use ball in a Sentence
–noun
1. a spherical or approximately spherical body or shape; sphere: He rolled the piece of paper into a ball.
2. a round or roundish body, of various sizes and materials, either hollow or solid, for use in games, as baseball, football, tennis, or golf.
3. a game played with a ball, esp. baseball: The boys are out playing ball.
4. Baseball. a pitched ball, not swung at by the batter, that does not pass over home plate between the batter's shoulders and knees.
5. Military.
a. a solid, usually spherical projectile for a cannon, rifle, pistol, etc., as distinguished from a shell.
b. projectiles, esp. bullets, collectively.
6. any part of a thing, esp. of the human body, that is rounded or protuberant: the ball of the thumb.
7. a round mass of food, as of chopped meat, dough, or candy.
8. Slang: Vulgar. a testis.
9. balls, Slang: Vulgar.
a. boldness; courage; brashness.
b. nonsense (often used as an interjection).
10. bolus (def. 1).
11. Horticulture. a compact mass of soil covering the roots of an uprooted tree or other plant.
12. Literary. a planetary or celestial body, esp. the earth.
13. Mathematics. (in a metric space) the set of points whose distance from the zero element is less than, or less than or equal to, a specified number.
–verb (used with object)
14. to make into a ball (sometimes fol. by up): The children were balling up snow to make a snowman.
15. to wind into balls: to ball cotton.
16. Slang: Vulgar. to have sexual intercourse with.
–verb (used without object)
17. to form or gather into a ball: When the spun sugar balls, the candy has cooked sufficiently.
18. Slang: Vulgar. to have sexual intercourse.
—Verb phrase
19. ball up, Slang. to make or become utterly confused; muddle: The records had been all balled up by inefficient file clerks.
—Idioms
20. ball the jack, Slang.
a. to act with speed.
b. to stake everything on one attempt.
21. carry the ball, to assume the responsibility; bear the burden: You can always count on him to carry the ball in an emergency.
22. drop the ball, to make a mistake or miss an opportunity at a critical moment.
23. keep the ball rolling, to continue or give renewed vigor to an activity already under way: When their interest lagged, he tried to keep the ball rolling.
24. on the ball,
a. alert and efficient or effective: If you don't get on the ball, you'll be fired.
b. indicating intelligence or ability: The tests show your students don't have much on the ball. The new manager has a lot on the ball.
25. play ball,
a. to begin or continue playing a game.
b. to start or continue any action.
c. to work together; cooperate: union leaders suspected of playing ball with racketeers.
26. run with the ball, to assume responsibility or work enthusiastically: If management approves the concept, we'll run with the ball.
27. start the ball rolling, to put into operation; begin: The recreation director started the ball rolling by having all the participants introduce themselves.
Origin:
1175–1225; ME bal, balle < OF < Gmc *ballaz; cf. ON bǫllr, OHG bal, ballo, balla, G Ball, D bal; perh. akin to L follis leather bag; see ballock

Related forms:
baller, noun

ball

2  [bawl]
–noun
1. a large, usually lavish, formal party featuring social dancing and sometimes given for a particular purpose, as to introduce debutantes or benefit a charitable organization.
2. Informal. a thoroughly good time: Have a ball on your vacation!
Origin:
1625–35; < F bal, n. deriv. of baler (now baller) to dance < LL ballāre < Gk (Magna Graecia) ballízein to dance

Ball

  [bawl]
–noun
1. George W(ild⋅man) [wahyld-muhn] , 1909–1994, U.S. lawyer, investment banker, and government official.
2. John, died 1381, English priest: one of the leaders of Wat Tyler's peasants' revolt in 1381.
3. Lucille, 1911–89, U.S. actress.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To ball
ball 1   (bôl)   
n.  
    1. A spherical object or entity: a steel ball.
    2. A spherical or almost spherical body: a ball of flame.
    3. Any of various rounded, movable objects used in various athletic activities and games.
    4. Such an object moving, thrown, hit, or kicked in a particular manner: a low ball; a fair ball.
    5. A game, especially baseball or basketball, played with such an object.
    6. A pitched baseball that does not pass through the strike zone and is not swung at by the batter.
    7. A solid spherical or pointed projectile, such as one shot from a cannon.
    8. Projectiles of this kind considered as a group.
    9. The testicles.
    10. Courage, especially when reckless.
    11. Great presumptuousness.
  2. Sports
    1. Any of various rounded, movable objects used in various athletic activities and games.
    2. Such an object moving, thrown, hit, or kicked in a particular manner: a low ball; a fair ball.
    3. A game, especially baseball or basketball, played with such an object.
    4. A pitched baseball that does not pass through the strike zone and is not swung at by the batter.
    5. A solid spherical or pointed projectile, such as one shot from a cannon.
    6. Projectiles of this kind considered as a group.
    7. The testicles.
    8. Courage, especially when reckless.
    9. Great presumptuousness.
    1. A solid spherical or pointed projectile, such as one shot from a cannon.
    2. Projectiles of this kind considered as a group.
    3. The testicles.
    4. Courage, especially when reckless.
    5. Great presumptuousness.
  4. A rounded part or protuberance, especially of the body: the ball of the foot.
  5. balls Vulgar Slang
    1. The testicles.
    2. Courage, especially when reckless.
    3. Great presumptuousness.
v.   balled, ball·ing, balls

v.   tr.
  1. To form into a ball.
  2. Vulgar Slang To have sexual intercourse with.
v.   intr.
  1. To become formed into a ball.
  2. Vulgar Slang To have sexual intercourse.
Phrasal Verb(s):
ball upTo confuse; bungle.

Idiom(s):
on the ball Informal
  1. Alert, competent, or efficient: a teacher who is really on the ball.
  2. Relating to qualities, such as competence, skill, or knowledge, that are necessary for success: a manager who has a lot on the ball; a student who has nothing on the ball.

[Middle English bal, probably from Old English *beall; see bhel-2 in Indo-European roots.]
ball 2   (bôl)   
n.  
  1. A formal gathering for social dancing.
  2. Informal An extremely enjoyable time or experience: We had a ball during our vacation.

[French bal, from Old French, from baller, to dance, from Late Latin ballāre, from Greek ballizein; see gwelə- in Indo-European roots.]
Ball   (bôl)   
English social agitator who was executed for his role in the Peasants' Revolt (1381).
Ball, Lucille 1911-1989.  
American actress best known as the star of the popular situation comedy I Love Lucy (1951-1957).
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Ball

Ball\ (b[add]l), n. [OE. bal, balle; akin to OHG. balla, palla, G. ball, Icel. b["o]llr, ball; cf. F. balle. Cf. 1st Bale, n., Pallmall.]

1. Any round or roundish body or mass; a sphere or globe; as, a ball of twine; a ball of snow.

2. A spherical body of any substance or size used to play with, as by throwing, knocking, kicking, etc.

3. A general name for games in which a ball is thrown, kicked, or knocked. See Baseball, and Football.

4. Any solid spherical, cylindrical, or conical projectile of lead or iron, to be discharged from a firearm; as, a cannon ball; a rifle ball; -- often used collectively; as, powder and ball. Spherical balls for the smaller firearms are commonly called bullets.

5. (Pyrotechnics & Mil.) A flaming, roundish body shot into the air; a case filled with combustibles intended to burst and give light or set fire, or to produce smoke or stench; as, a fire ball; a stink ball.

6. (Print.) A leather-covered cushion, fastened to a handle called a ballstock; -- formerly used by printers for inking the form, but now superseded by the roller.

7. A roundish protuberant portion of some part of the body; as, the ball of the thumb; the ball of the foot.

8. (Far.) A large pill, a form in which medicine is commonly given to horses; a bolus. --White.

9. The globe or earth. --Pope.

Move round the dark terrestrial ball. --Addison.

Ball and socket joint, a joint in which a ball moves within a socket, so as to admit of motion in every direction within certain limits.

Ball bearings, a mechanical device for lessening the friction of axle bearings by means of small loose metal balls.

Ball cartridge, a cartridge containing a ball, as distinguished from a blank cartridge, containing only powder.

Ball cock, a faucet or valve which is opened or closed by the fall or rise of a ball floating in water at the end of a lever.

Ball gudgeon, a pivot of a spherical form, which permits lateral deflection of the arbor or shaft, while retaining the pivot in its socket. --Knight.

Ball lever, the lever used in a ball cock.

Ball of the eye, the eye itself, as distinguished from its lids and socket; -- formerly, the pupil of the eye.

Ball valve (Mach.), a contrivance by which a ball, placed in a circular cup with a hole in its bottom, operates as a valve.

Ball vein (Mining), a sort of iron ore, found in loose masses of a globular form, containing sparkling particles.

Three balls, or Three golden balls, a pawnbroker's sign or shop.

Syn: See Globe.

Ball

Ball\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Balled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Balling.] To gather balls which cling to the feet, as of damp snow or clay; to gather into balls; as, the horse balls; the snow balls.

Ball

Ball\, v. t. 1. (Metal.) To heat in a furnace and form into balls for rolling.

2. To form or wind into a ball; as, to ball cotton.

Ball

Ball\, n. [F. bal, fr. OF. baler to dance, fr. LL. ballare. Of uncertain origin; cf. Gr. ? to toss or throw, or ?, ?, to leap, bound, ? to dance, jump about; or cf. 1st Ball, n.] A social assembly for the purpose of dancing.

Ball

Ball\, n. (Baseball) A pitched ball, not struck at by the batsman, which fails to pass over the home base at a height not greater than the batsman's shoulder nor less than his knee.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : ball
Spanish: bola; esfera; ovillo,
German: das Knäul,die Kugel,
Japanese: 球
More Translations »

ball  (1)
"round object," O.E., from O.N. bollr "ball," from P.Gmc. *balluz (cf. O.H.G. ballo, Ger. Ball), from PIE base *bhel- "to swell" (see bole). The verb meaning "copulate" is first recorded 1940s in jazz slang. To be on the ball is 1912, from sports. Ball-point pen first recorded 1947. Ball of fire when first recorded in 1821 referred to "a glass of brandy;" as "spectacularly successful striver" it is c.1900. Ball and chain as a prisoner's restraint is recorded from 1835; as "one's wife," early 1920s.

ball  (2)
"dancing party," 1632, from O.Fr. baller "to dance," from L.L. ballare "to dance," from Gk. ballizein "to dance, jump about," also "to throw," from PIE base *gwel- "to drip, spring forth, throw" (cf. Skt. balbaliti "whirls, twirls," Gk. ballizo "dance," O.E. plega "play"). Hence, "very enjoyable time" (1945, Amer.Eng. slang). Ballroom dancing first attested 1894.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: 1ball
Pronunciation: 'bol
Function: noun
: a round or roundish body or mass: as a : a roundish protuberant part ofthe body: as (1) : the rounded eminence by which the base of the thumb is continuous with the palm of the hand (2) : the rounded broad part of the sole of the human foot between toesand arch and on which the main weight of the body first rests in normal walking (3) : the padded rounded underside of a human finger or toe near the tip b : EYEBALL c often vulgar : TESTIS d : a large pill (as one used in veterinary medicine) : BOLUS

Main Entry: 2ball
Function: transitive verb
: to give a medicinal ball to (as a horse)
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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ball (bôl)
n.

  1. A spherical object or mass.
  2. A bezoar.
  3. A large pill or bolus.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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ball

In addition to the idioms beginning with ball, also see behind the eight ball; break one's balls; by the balls; carry the ball; crystal ball; drop the ball; eyeball to eyeball; get the ball rolling; have a ball; have one's eye on the ball; have someone by the balls; on the ball; play ball; put in mothballs; snowball's chance in hell; that's how the ball bounces; whole ball of wax.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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