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hardball

- 2 dictionary results

hard⋅ball

  [hahrd-bawl]
Use hardball in a Sentence
–noun
1. baseball, as distinguished from softball.
–adjective
2. tough or ruthless: He wasn't ready for the hardball politics of Washington.
3. outspoken, challenging, or difficult: Reporters asked the president some hardball questions.
—Idiom
4. play hardball, to act or work aggressively, competitively, or ruthlessly, as in business or politics.
Origin:
1825–35; hard + ball 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To hardball
hard·ball   (härd'bôl')   
n.  
  1. Baseball.
  2. Informal The use of any means, however ruthless, to attain an objective.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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