Ball Definition

bôl
balled, balling, balls
noun
balls
A spherical object or entity.
A steel ball.
American Heritage
Any round, or spherical, object; sphere; globe.
Webster's New World
A spherical or almost spherical body.
A ball of flame.
American Heritage
A planet or star, esp. the earth.
Webster's New World
Any of various movable and round or oblong objects used in various athletic activities and games.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
verb
balled, balling, balls
To form into a ball.
Webster's New World
To have sexual intercourse with.
American Heritage
To have sexual intercourse (with)
Webster's New World
To become formed into a ball.
American Heritage
To have sexual intercourse.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
pronoun

A surname​.

Wiktionary
affix
A person characterized, usually figuratively, by (a specified negative quality)
A slimeball gambler.
Webster's New World
idiom
have
  • To have control over someone; have someone at one's mercy.
American Heritage
on the ball
  • Alert, competent, or efficient:

    a teacher who is really on the ball.

  • 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.

American Heritage
ball up
  • to muddle or bungle
Webster's New World
be on the ball
  • to be alert; be efficient
Webster's New World
carry the ball
  • to assume responsibility; take command
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Ball

Noun

Singular:
ball
Plural:
balls

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Ball

Origin of Ball

  • From Middle English bal, ball, balle, from Old English *beall, *bealla (“round object, ball”) or Old Norse bǫllr (“a ball”) (whence the Icelandic böllur (“scrotum; penis; a ball”)), both from Proto-Germanic *balluz, *ballô (“ball”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰoln- (“bubble”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to blow, inflate, swell”). Cognate with Old Saxon ball, Dutch bal, Old High German bal, ballo (German Ball (“ball”); Ballen (“bale”)). Related forms in Romance are borrowings from Germanic. See also balloon, bale.

    From Wiktionary

  • French bal from Old French from baller to dance from Late Latin ballāre from Greek ballizein gwelə- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Middle English bal probably from Old English beall bhel-2 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From French bal, from Late Latin ballare.

    From Wiktionary

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