Ball

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /bɔːl/
• US IPA: /bÉ”l/
• cot-caught IPA: /bÉ‘l/
• Rhymes: -ɔːl
• Homophones: bawl

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.

Noun

1. A solid or hollow sphere, or part thereof.
   a ball of spittle;   a fecal ball
1. A quantity of string, thread, etc., wound into a spherical shape.
   a ball of wool;   a ball of twine
2. (ballistics) A solid, spherical nonexplosive missile for a cannon, etc.
1. A jacketed non-expanding bullet, typically of military origin.
3. A roundish protuberant portion of some part of the body.
   the ball of the thumb;   the ball of the foot
4. (anatomy) The front of the bottom of the foot, just behind the toes.
5. The globe; the earthly sphere.
• Joseph Addison (1672-1719)Move round the dark terrestrial ball.
• 1717, Alexander Pope, ""Thus, if eternal Justice rules the ball,
  Thus shall your wives, and thus your children fall;
6. (mathematics) The set of points in a metric space lying within a given distance (the radius) of a given point; specifically, the homologue of the disk in a Euclidean space of any number of dimensions.
7. (mathematics, more generally) The set of points in a topological space lying within some open set containing a given point; the analogue of the disk in a Euclidean space.
8. An object, generally spherical, used for playing games.
• 1922, Michael Arlen, “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days Chapter 3/19/2, Ivor had acquired more than a mile of fishing rights with the house ; he was not at all a good fisherman, but one must do something ; one generally, however, banged a ball with a squash-racket against a wall.
• 2011, October 2, Aled Williams, Swansea 2-0 Stoke, Graham secured victory with five minutes left, coolly lifting the ball over Asmir Begovic.
2. (sport) The use of a round or ellipsoidal object.
1. Any simple game involving a ball.
   The children were playing ball on the beach.
   The children were playing ball in the garden.
2. (baseball) A pitch that falls outside of the strike zone.
3. (pinball) An opportunity to launch the pinball into play.
   If you get to a million points, you get another ball.
4. (cricket) A single delivery by the bowler, six of which make up an over.
5. (soccer) A pass; a kick of the football towards a teammate.
• 2010, December 29, Chris Whyatt, Chelsea 1-0 Bolton, After Essien's poor attempt flew into the stands, Rodrigo Moreno - Bolton's on-loan winger from Benfica who was making his full Premier League debut - nearly exposed the Blues with a lovely ball for Johan Elmander, but it just skipped away from his team-mate's toes.
3. (mildly vulgar, slang, usually in plural) A testicle.
1. Nonsense.
   That’s a load of balls, and you know it!
   — Synonyms — See
2. Courage.
   I doubt he’s got the balls to tell him off.
4. (printing, historical) A leather-covered cushion, fastened to a handle called a ballstock; formerly used by printers for inking the form, then superseded by the roller.
5. (farriery, historical) A large pill, a form in which medicine was given to horses; a bolus.

Synonyms

• sphere
• globe
• (testicle) See
• (slang: courage) chutzpah, guts, nerve

Derived terms

Full definition of ball

Verb

1. (transitive) To form or wind into a ball.to ball cotton
2. (metalworking) To heat in a furnace and form into balls for rolling.
3. (transitive, vulgar) To have sexual intercourse with.
4. (ambitransitive) To gather balls which cling to the feet, as of damp snow or clay; to gather into balls.The horse balls; the snow balls.
5. (slang, usually in present participle) To be hip or cool.

Synonyms

• vulgar bonk, fuck, lay, screw, shag British

Interjection

1. (Australian rules football) An appeal by the crowd for holding the ball against a tackled player. This is heard almost any time an opposition player is tackled, without regard to whether the rules about "prior opportunity" to dispose of the ball are fulfilled.2007: A good tackle (and some bad ones) will bring a cry of "Ball!" from the crowd – a plea for a holding the ball free kick. — AFL Sydney Swans Rules Zone http://www.afl.com.au/FanZone/Rules/tabid/7892/Default.aspx

From French bal, from Late Latin ballare.

Noun

1. A formal dance.
2. (informal) A very enjoyable time.I had a ball at that concert

Synonyms

• (very enjoyable time) blast, whale of a time

Derived terms

• ball-dress
• ballgown
• ballroom
• have a ball
• hunt ball
• masked ball
• open the ball

Related terms

• ballad
• ballade