Dictionary Definition
ball
Noun
1 round object that is hit or thrown or kicked in
games; "the ball travelled 90 mph on his serve"; "the mayor threw
out the first ball"; "the ball rolled into the corner pocket"
2 a solid ball shot by a musket; "they had to
carry a ramrod as well as powder and ball" [syn: musket
ball]
4 the people assembled at a lavish formal dance;
"the ball was already emptying out before the fire alarm
sounded"
5 one of the two male reproductive glands that
produce spermatozoa and secrete androgens; "she kicked him in the
balls and got away" [syn: testis, testicle, orchis, ballock, bollock, nut, egg]
6 a spherical object used as a plaything; "he
played with his rubber ball in the bathtub"
7 United States comedienne best known as the star
of a popular television program (1911-1989) [syn: Lucille
Ball]
9 a lavish formal dance
10 a more or less rounded anatomical body or
mass; ball of the human foot or ball at the base of the thumb; "he
stood on the balls of his feet"
11 a ball game played with a bat and ball between
two teams of 9 players; teams take turns at bat trying to score
run; "he played baseball in high school"; "there was a baseball
game on every empy lot"; "there was a desire for National League
ball in the area"; "play ball!" [syn: baseball, baseball
game]
12 a pitch that is not in the strike zone; "he
threw nine straight balls before the manager yanked him" v : form
into a ball by winding or rolling; "ball wool"
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Pronunciation
- , /bɔːl/, /bO:l/
-
- Rhymes with: -ɔːl
Homophones
Etymology 1
Noun
- A solid or hollow sphere.
- An object, generally spherical, used for playing games.
- A quantity of string, thread, etc., wound into a spherical
shape.
- ball of wool''
- A pitch that falls outside of the strike zone.
- In the context of "pinball": An opportunity to launch the ball into play.
- In the context of "ballistics": A solid, spherical nonexplosive missile for a cannon, etc.
- In the context of "ballistics": A jacketed non-expanding bullet, typically of military origin.
- 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.
- In the context of "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.
- In the context of "mildly|vulgar|slang|usually in plural": A testicle.
- In the context of "mildly|vulgar|slang|in plural": Nonsense.
- That’s a load of balls, and you know it! — Synonyms — See
- In the context of "slang|in plural": Courage.
- I doubt he’s got the balls to tell him off.
- A single delivery by the bowler, six of which make up an over.
- The ball of a foot
Derived terms
- ball and chain
- ball and socket
- ball-barrow
- ball bearing/ball-bearing
- ball boy/ballboyball-boy
- ball-breaker
- ball-breaking
- ball-buster
- ball-busting
- ball-cartridge
- ballclay
- ballcock
- ball-flower
- ball-game
- ball-girl
- ball lightning
- ball machine
- ball mill
- ball of fire
- ball of the foot
- ball of the thumb
- ballpark
- ball-player
- ballpoint
- ball-proof
- ball race
- balls-aching
- balls up (verb)
- balls-up (noun)
- ballsy
- ball up
- bandy-ball
- baseball
- basketball
- beachball/beach ball
- best-ball
- billiard ball
- blackball
- blowball
- blueball
- brandy-ball
- broomball
- buckyball
- butterball
- button-ball
- cannonball
- coalball
- cornball
- cricket ball
- croquet ball
- crystal ball
- cue ball
- dust-ball
- eight ball
- eyeball
- fastball
- fire-ball
- fishball
- football
- four ball
- freeball
- fuzz-ball
- game ball
- get the ball rolling
- goalball
- golf ball
- goofball
- greaseball
- hair-ball
- half-ball
- hand-ball
- hardball
- have a ball
- have someone by the balls
- heel-ball
- highball
- holding the ball
- jump ball
- keep the ball rolling
- kickball
- korfball
- matzo ball
- meatball
- medicine ball
- Minié ball
- mothball
- netball
- no ball
- object ball
- oddball
- on the ball
- paintball
- patball
- pinball
- ping-pong ball
- pithball
- play ball
- puffball
- punchball
- push-ball
- racquetball
- rollerball
- root-ball
- rugby ball
- screwball
- scuzzball
- silver ball
- skittle-ball
- sleazeball
- slimeball
- smoke-ball
- snooker ball
- snowball
- soccer ball
- softball
- speedball
- spot the ball
- stink ball
- stoolball
- table-tennis ball
- tea ball
- tennis ball
- tchoukball
- the ball is in your court
- through ball
- time-ball
- trackball, trackerball
- trap-ball
- volleyball
- washball
Translations
solid or hollow sphere
- Arabic: (kóra)
- Chinese: 球, 球 (qiú)
- Dutch: bol
- Esperanto: globo, sfero
- Estonian: pall
- Finnish: pallo
- French: balle, boule
- German: Kugel , naut. Ball
- Greek: σφαίρα (sfaíra)
- Hebrew: כדור (kadur)
- Hungarian: golyó
- Italian: palla
- Japanese: 玉 (たま, tamá), 球 (きゅう, kyū)
- Korean: 공 (gong), 구 (球, gu)
- Latvian: lode , bumba
- Polish: kula
- Portuguese: bola
- Russian: шар (šar) (usually solid), сфера (sféra) (usually hollow)
- Scots: baw
- Serbian: lopta
- Slovak: guľa
- Spanish: bola, esfera
- Swedish: boll (soft and/or hollow), klot (mainly hard and/or solid), kula (solid, hard and small)
- Telugu: బంతి
- Turkish: top
object, generally spherical, used for playing
games
- Arabic: (kóra)
- Breton: bal, baloù p
- Bulgarian: топка
- Catalan: pilota
- Chinese: 球, 球 (qiú)
- Czech: míč
- Dutch: bal
- Esperanto: pilko
- Estonian: pall
- Finnish: pallo, kuula (e.g., in shot put, also colloquially)
- French: (small, such as a cricket ball) balle , (large, such as a football) ballon
- German: Ball (hollow or soft), Kugel (hard)
- Greek: μπάλα (bála)
- Hebrew: כדור (kadúr)
- Hungarian: labda
- Icelandic: bolti
- Ido: baloneto
- Indonesian: bola
- Italian: pallone
- Japanese: ボール (bōru), まり (mari), 鞠 (mari), 毬 (mari)
- Kurdish: gog, hol, top, tepik, تۆپ
- Latin: pila
- Latvian: bumba
- Polish: piłka
- Portuguese: bola
- Romanian: bilă
- Russian: мяч (mjač) (mostly for balls filled with air but there are exclusions such as baseball, golf ball and others), шар (šar) (for solid balls)
- Scots: baw
- Serbian: lopta, tapka
- Slovak: guľa , lopta
- Slovene: žoga
- Spanish: pelota, balón, bola
- Swahili: mpira, mipira p (noun 3/4)
- Swedish: boll , klot (mainly hard and/or solid), kula (small and hard)
- Tagalog: bola
- Telugu: బంతి
- Tongan: pulu
- Turkish: top
quantity of string, thread, etc., wound into a
spherical shape
baseball: a pitch that falls outside the strike
zone
- Japanese: ボール
pinball: an opportunity to launch the ball into
play
- Finnish: pallo
- Spanish: tirada
ballistics: a solid nonexplosive missile
- Dutch: kogel
- Finnish: kuula
- German: Kugel
- Hungarian: golyó
- Polish: kula
- Portuguese: bala
- Russian: ядро
- Slovene: krogla
- Spanish: bala
- Swedish: kula
mathematics: set of points in a metric space
lying within a given distance of a given point
mildly vulgar slang: testicle
- Catalan: pilotes, f|p
- Dutch: bal
- Finnish: palli (mildly vulgar)
- French: couille (vulgar)
- German: Ei
- Icelandic: kúla (used in plural, with article)
- Italian: palla (mildly vulgar)
- Japanese: 筋玉 (きんたま, kintama)
- Korean: 불알 (bural), 불 (bul)
- Kurdish: gun
- Lithuanian: kiaušas
- Polish: jajo, jaja
- Portuguese: saco, bolas, ovos (vulgar)
- Romanian: coi (vulgar)
- Russian: яйцо (jajtsó) , яйца (jájtsa) p
- Scots: baw
- Slovene: jajca
- Spanish: huevos, cojones, pelotas
- Swedish: kula, balle
- Tagalog: itlog
in plural - mildly vulgar slang - nonsense
in plural — slang — courage
cricket: a single delivery
- Japanese: 正球 (せいきゅう, seikyū)
(anatomy) the ball of a foot
dance (noun)
- French: bal
- German: Ball
- Italian: ballo
- Spanish: baile
- ttbc Breton: mell , melloù, pellenn , pellennoù, polotenn , polotennoù (1), bal , balioù (7)
- ttbc Indonesian: bola
- ttbc Romanian: minge (1,2), bilã (5)
- ttbc Slovak: guľa (5,6)
Verb
- In the context of "transitive|vulgar": To have sexual intercourse with.
Translations
vulgar slang: have sexual intercourse with
Interjection
ball- 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
Etymology 2
From < ballare.Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
formal dance
- Bulgarian: бал (bal)
- Chinese traditional/simplified: 舞會,舞会 (wǔ huì)
- Crimean Tatar: bal
- Czech: bál
- Dutch: bal
- Esperanto: balo
- Estonian: ball
- Finnish: tanssiaiset
- French: bal
- German: Ball
- Ido: balo
- Italian: ballo
- Japanese: 舞踏会 (ぶとうかい, butōkai)
- Polish: bal
- Portuguese: baile
- Russian: бал (bal)
- Serbian: ples, bal
- Slovak: ples, bál
- Slovene: ples
- Spanish: baile
- Swedish: bal
- Turkish: balo
colloquial: a very enjoyable time
Crimean Tatar
Etymology
balle - "ball".Noun
ballDeclension
References
Useinov-Mireev 2002}}Icelandic
Noun
ball ('''Pronunciation
- a [[Munster lang=ga|[bˠaul̪ˠ]
- a Galway lang=ga|[bˠɑːl̪ˠ]
- lang=ga|[bˠal̪ˠ]
Declension
Swedish
Adjective
ball- cool, hip, fun, entertaining
- Det är ballt att åka skateboard.
- "It’s cool to ride a skateboard."
- Det är ballt att åka skateboard.
Noun
ball (more commonly balle)Extensive Definition
Balls are objects typically used in games. They
are usually spherical but
can be ovoid. In most
games using
balls, the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it
is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used for
simpler activities, such as catch, marbles and juggling. Balls made from
hard-wearing metal are
used in engineering
applications to provide frictionless bearings, known as ball
bearings.
Although many types of balls are today made from
rubber, this form was
unknown outside the Americas until after the voyages of Columbus.
The Spanish were the first Europeans to see bouncing rubber balls
(albeit solid and not inflated) which were employed most notably in
the Mesoamerican
ballgame. Balls used in various sports in other parts of the
world prior to Columbus were made from other materials such as
animal bladders or skins, stuffed with various materials.
Etymology
The first known use of the word ball in English in the sense of a globular body that is played with was in 1205 in in the phrase, "" The word came from the Middle English bal (inflected as ball-e, -es, in turn from Old Norse böllr (; compare Old Swedish baller, and Swedish boll) from Proto-Germanic ballu-z, (whence probably Middle High German bal, ball-es, Middle Dutch bal), a cognate with Old High German ballo, pallo, Middle High German balle from Proto-Germanic *ballon (weak masculine), and Old High German ballâ, pallâ, Middle High German balle, Proto-Germanic *ballôn (weak feminine). No Old English representative of any of these is known. (The answering forms in Old English would have been beallu, -a, -e -- compare bealluc, ballock.) If ball- was native in Germanic, it may have been a cognate with the Latin foll-is in sense of a "thing blown up or inflated." In the later Middle English spelling balle the word coincided graphically with the French balle "ball" and "bale", which has hence been erroneously assumed to be its source. French balle (but not boule) is assumed to be of Germanic origin, itself, however.Images
ball in Guarani: Vakapipopo
ball in Bulgarian: Топка
ball in Catalan: Pilota
ball in Czech: Míč
ball in Danish: Bold
ball in German: Ball
ball in Modern Greek (1453-): Μπάλα
ball in Spanish: Pelota
ball in Esperanto: Pilko
ball in Basque: Baloi
ball in Persian: توپ (ورزش)
ball in French: Ballon (sport)
ball in Scottish Gaelic: Bàlla
ball in Korean: 공 (운동 기구)
ball in Indonesian: Bola
ball in Italian: Palla (sport)
ball in Hebrew: כדור משחק
ball in Latin: Pila
ball in Lithuanian: Kamuolys
ball in Malay (macrolanguage): Bola
ball in Dutch: Bal (voorwerp)
ball in Japanese: ボール
ball in Norwegian Nynorsk: Ball
ball in Polish: Piłka
ball in Portuguese: Bola
ball in Quechua: Piluta
ball in Russian: Игры с мячом
ball in Sicilian: Badda
ball in Simple English: Ball
ball in Silesian: Bala
ball in Slovenian: Žoga
ball in Finnish: Pallo (peliväline)
ball in Swedish: Boll
ball in Tamil: பந்து
ball in Turkish: Top (spor)
ball in Buginese: ᨁᨚᨒᨚ
ball in Ukrainian: М'яч
ball in Contenese: 波
ball in Chinese: 球 (運動)
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
Kaffeeklatsch, action, agate, assemblee, assembly, assignation, at home,
bal, bal costume, bal
masque, ball bearing, balloon, bar shot, barn dance,
baseball, baseball bat,
basketball, bat, battledore, bauble, be intimate, bead, big time, bird shot, bladder, blob, blocks, blowout, boll, bolus, bowl, brawl, bubble, buckshot, bulb, bulbil, bulblet, bullet, cannon shot, cannonball, case shot,
caucus, checkerboard, chessboard, clew, clot, club, cockhorse, cocktail party,
coffee klatch, cohabit,
colloquium, come
together, commission,
commit adultery, committee, conclave, concourse, conglobulate, congregation, congress, conventicle, convention, convocation, copulate, costume party,
council, country dance,
couple, cover, cricket bat, crossbar shot,
cue, dance, date, diddle, diet, dinner, dinner party, discus, doll, doll carriage, donation
party, duck shot, dumdum bullet, egg, eisteddfod, ejecta, ejectamenta, ellipsoid, ensphere, entertainment, expanding
bullet, fancy-dress ball, festivity, fete, football, forgathering, fornicate, forum, frig, fun, fun and games, funmaking, game, garden party, gathering, geoid, get-together, gewgaw, gimcrack, globe, globelet, globoid, globule, glomerulus, gob, gobbet, golf club, good time,
grape, grapeshot, great fun, handball, have sex, have sexual
relations, hen party, high old time, high time, hobbyhorse, hop, house party, house-raising,
housewarming,
jack-in-the-box, jacks,
jackstones, jackstraws, kickshaw, knickknack, knob, knot, langrel shot, laughs, lawn party, lay, levee, lie with, lovely time, make
it with, make love, make out, manstopping bullet, marble, marionette, mask, masked ball, masque, masquerade, masquerade ball,
masquerade party, mate,
meet, meeting, mig, missile, mixer, mothball, mount, mushroom, oblate spheroid,
orb, orbit, orblet, oval, ovoid, panel, paper doll, party, pellet, pick-up sticks, picnic, pill, pinball, pinwheel, play, plaything, pleasant time,
plenum, projectile, prolate spheroid,
prom, promenade, puppet, pushball, quoit, quorum, racket, rag doll, rally, reception, record hop,
rendezvous, rifle
ball, rocking horse, rondure, round, round shot, rubber ball,
screw, seance, serve, service, session, shell, shindig, shindy, shot, shower, shrapnel, sit-in, sitting, sleep with, slug, smoker, snowball, softball, soiree, sphere, spherify, spheroid, spherule, split shot, sport, square dance, stag, stag dance, stag party,
steelie, surprise party,
symposium, synod, taw, tea dance, teetotum, tetherball, the dansant,
top, toy, toy soldier, trajectile, trinket, turnout, volleyball, wad, whiffle ball,
whim-wham