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balls - 5 dictionary results
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ball

1  [bawl]
Use balls 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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To balls
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.]
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

balls 
"testicles," 1325, from pl. of ball (1). See also ballocks. Meaning "courage, nerve" is from 1928; ballsy "courageous, masculine" first recorded 1959 in Norman Mailer (writing of Truman Capote). Ball-busting "difficult" is first recorded 1944; ball-buster disparaging for "dominant female" is from 1974. Balls to the wall, however, is probably from WWII Air Forces slang, from the ball that topped the aircraft throttle, thrust to the bulkhead of the cockpit to attain full speed.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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