- ball
- 1
noun (C)
1 TO PLAY WITH a round object that is thrown, kicked, or hit in a game or sport: Bounce the ball to me. | a tennis ball2 ROUND SHAPE something formed or rolled into a round shape: a ball of string | Shape the dough into balls.3 the ball of the foot/hand/thumb the rounded part of the foot at the base of the toe, rounded part of the hand at the base of the thumb or fingers-see also: eyeball 1 (1)4 a fast/good/curved etc ball a ball that is thrown, hit, or kicked fast etc in a game or sport: He hit a long ball to right field.5 no ball a ball that is thrown too high, low etc towards someone trying to hit it, in the games of cricket (2) or rounders (2)6 BASEBALL AmE a ball thrown in baseball that a player is not expected to hit because it is not within the correct area7 BULLET a round bullet fired from a type of gun that was used in the past8 on the ball informal thinking or acting quickly: We need an assistant who's really on the ball.9 set/start the ball rolling to begin an activity or event or make sure it continues: Let's start the ball rolling with a few suggestions.10 the ball is in your court it is your turn to take action or to reply: I've sent him a letter, now the ball's in his court.11 DANCE a large formal occasion at which people dance12 have a ball informal to have a very good time: We had a ball at the party last night.13 balls (plural)a) testiclesb) taboo spoken courage or determination: It's not going to be easy. It'll take fight. Guts. Balls.c) BrE taboo spoken something that is stupid or wrong; nonsense: That's a load of balls!14 a ball of fire someone who has a lot of energy and is active and successful15 the whole ball of wax AmE informal the whole thing; everything16 ball-buster/ball-breaker AmE slanga) a problem that is very difficult to deal withb) an offensive word for a woman who uses her authority over men-see also: balls 1, not play ball play1 (24) 2 verb (T)1 also ball up to form something into a small round shape so that it takes up less space2 AmE spoken taboo to have sex with a womanball sth up phrasal verb AmE spoken to make a situation confused or difficult to deal with: No, we're not going now, Lindsay's managed to ball everything up. -see also: balls-up
Longman dictionary of contemporary English. 2004.