ball

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   A solid or hollow sphere, or roughly spherical mass.

   • a ball of spittle; a fecal ball
2. 2

   Homologue or analogue of a disk in the Euclidean plane.

3. 3

   A solid, spherical nonexplosive missile for a cannon, rifle, gun, etc.

4. ›+ 26 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      A roundish, protuberant portion of some part of the body.

      • the ball of the thumb
   2. 5

      The globe

      The globe; the earthly sphere.

      • c. 1712', Joseph Addison, Ode to the Creator of the World What, though in solemn Silence, all / Move round the dark terrestrial Ball!
      • Thus, if eternal Justice rules the ball, / Thus shall your wives, and thus your children fall;
   3. 6

      An object that is the focus of many sports and games, in which it may be thrown, caught,…

      An object that is the focus of many sports and games, in which it may be thrown, caught, kicked, bounced, rolled, chased, retrieved, hit with an instrument, spun, etc., usually roughly spherical or ovoid but whose size, weight, bounciness, colour, etc. differ according to the game

      • 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.
      • Graham secured victory with five minutes left, coolly lifting the ball over Asmir Begovic.
   4. 7

      A testicle.

      • Hitler has only got one ball, / Göring has two but very small, / Himmler is rather sim'lar, / But poor old Goebbels has no balls at all.
   5. 8

      A leather-covered cushion, fastened to a handle called a ballstock

      A leather-covered cushion, fastened to a handle called a ballstock; formerly used by printers for inking the form, then superseded by the roller.

   6. 9

      A large pill, a form in which medicine was given to horses

      A large pill, a form in which medicine was given to horses; a bolus.

      • The laxative alterative has not this advantage, the aloes, of which it is composed, being extremely bitter, and therefore requiring to be given in the form of a ball.
   7. 10

      One thousand US dollars.

      • I'ma let these niggas have it, go on stage and throw a forty ball
      • Forty ball all in these leather jeans Diamonds studs, I make a bum nigga think twice
      • Forty ball on my wrist, nigga, I cashed out on it (Damn) Forty bands on my neck, nigga, I maxed out on it (Damn)
   8. 11

      To form or wind into a ball.

      • to ball cotton
   9. 12

      To heat in a furnace and form into balls for rolling.

   10. 13

       To have sexual intercourse (with).

       • Max says it works both ways. “I mean if she comes in and tells me she wants to ball Don, maybe, I say ‘O.K., baby, it's your trip.’”
       • Jefferson Fuck Poland wrote of three other anti-free-sex influences: […]heroin use (“Junkies rarely ball, unless for cash to buy junk. Heroin provides an orgasmic feeling of its own while suppressing sexual desire”); […].
   11. 14

       To gather balls which cling to the feet or skis, as of damp snow or clay

       To gather balls which cling to the feet or skis, as of damp snow or clay; to gather into balls.

       • the horse balls
       • the snow balls
   12. 15

       To be hip or cool.

   13. 16

       To reject from a fraternity or sorority. (Ellipsis of blackball).

       • All of these things are done by pledges in hopes of not getting 'balled' or kicked out.
   14. 17

       To play basketball.

       • fuck it, we ball
   15. 18

       To spend money extravagantly.

   16. 19

       To punish by affixing a ball and chain.

       • any man refusing to do police duty will be punished by the sergts by balling him the rest of the day.
   17. 20

       Of bees

       Of bees: to kill (a wasp) by surrounding it in large numbers so as to raise its body heat.

   18. 21

       To operate (a vehicle) at high speed (whether balls-out, balls to the wall, or ballin'…

       To operate (a vehicle) at high speed (whether balls-out, balls to the wall, or ballin' the jack, each of which comes ultimately from ball via a different route).

       • Near-synonym: haul ass
       • Hang back for a bit — that Peterbilt in the left lane is really ballin’ and I'd rather not be real close to him.
   19. 22

       An exclamation to inform players on an adjacent playing area that a loose ball from…

       An exclamation to inform players on an adjacent playing area that a loose ball from another game has entered their playing area; typically implies that play should be paused until the ball has been retrieved.

   20. 23

       An appeal by the crowd for holding the ball against a tackled player.

       • 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.
   21. 24

       A formal dance.

       • We still have pictures from the ball we had in August 2008.
   22. 25

       A very enjoyable time.

       • I had a ball at that concert.
   23. 26

       A competitive event among young African-American and Latin American LGBTQ+ people in…

       A competitive event among young African-American and Latin American LGBTQ+ people in which prizes are awarded for drag and similar performances. See ball culture.

   24. 27

       An English surname.

   25. 28

       A town in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States.

   26. 29

       A hamlet in Egloshayle parish, on the eastern outskirts of Wadebridge, Cornwall, England…

       A hamlet in Egloshayle parish, on the eastern outskirts of Wadebridge, Cornwall, England (OS grid ref SX0073).

The neighborhood

• synonymsphere
• synonymglobe
• synonymtesticletesticle
• neighborfore
• neighborballad
• neighborballade