ball

ball
I UK [bɔːl] / US [bɔl] noun
Word forms "ball":
singular ball plural balls
***
1)
a) [countable] a round object used in games and sports

Try to kick the ball into the back of the net.

a tennis/golf ball

b) a round or nearly round object or shape

Shape the dough into balls.

a melon ball

ball of:

a ball of wool

2)
a) [uncountable] any game that you play with a ball, especially an informal game

We'll be outside playing ball until dinner.

b) [countable] an occasion when someone kicks, hits, or throws the ball in a game, or the way they kick, hit, or throw it

He kicked a long ball upfield.

3) [countable] a formal social event at which there is dancing and usually a meal

the college's summer ball

4) [countable] the part of your foot, hand, or thumb that is slightly round and sticks out
ball of:

He balanced on the balls of his feet.

get/set/start the ball rolling — to make something start happening

There are several things we should discuss. Who'd like to start the ball rolling?

have/keep several balls in the airinformal to try to do several different things at the same time

See:
balls I, drop I

II UK [bɔːl] / US [bɔl] verb [intransitive/transitive]
Word forms "ball":
present tense I/you/we/they ball he/she/it balls present participle balling past tense balled past participle balled
ball or ball up to become a small round shape, or to make something into a small round shape

She balled her fists angrily.


English dictionary. 2014.

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Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ball — (b[add]l), n. [OE. bal, balle; akin to OHG. balla, palla, G. ball, Icel. b[ o]llr, ball; cf. F. balle. Cf. 1st {Bale}, n., {Pallmall}.] 1. Any round or roundish body or mass; a sphere or globe; as, a ball of twine; a ball of snow. [1913 Webster]… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ball — Ⅰ. ball [1] ► NOUN 1) a solid or hollow sphere, especially one that is kicked, thrown, or hit in a game. 2) a single throw or kick of the ball in a game. 3) N. Amer. a game played with a ball, especially baseball. ► VERB ▪ squeeze or form into a… …   English terms dictionary

  • ball — ball; ball·er; ball·ing; ball·iz·ing; base·ball; bee·ball; em·ball; high·ball·er; knuck·le·ball·er; spit·ball·er; bucky·ball; foos·ball; scuzz·ball; track·ball; …   English syllables

  • Ball — Ball. Ein gesellschaftlicher Tanzverein. Man leitet diesen Ausdruck von dem italienischen ballare tanzen, ballo Tanzgesellschaft, und dem französischen bal ab, was allerdings wahrscheinlicher ist als die Erklärung Nachtigall s, (in seinen… …   Damen Conversations Lexikon

  • ball — ball1 [bôl] n. [ME bal < OE * beallu < IE base * bhel , to swell > BOWL1, BLADDER, ON bǫllr, OHG balla, Gr phallos, L follis & flare] 1. any round, or spherical, object; sphere; globe 2. a planet or star, esp. the earth …   English World dictionary

  • BALL — (Biochemical Algorithms Library) is a C++ library containing common algorithms used in biochemistry and bioinformatics. The library also has Python bindings. Among the supported systems are Linux, Solaris, Microsoft Windows. The library can be… …   Wikipedia

  • Ball — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda El término ball puede hacer referencia a: Ball, el primer juego de Game Watch. bola mala, expresión utilizada en béisbol. la abreviatura botánica para John Ball. Ball, un álbum de la banda Iron Butterfly. Obtenido de …   Wikipedia Español

  • BALL (J.) — BALL JOHN (mort en 1381) La plupart des chroniques, dont celle de Froissart, présentent John Ball comme l’un des grands responsables du soulèvement des paysans et des artisans en Angleterre en 1381. Peut être, disciple de John Wyclif, aurait il… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Ball — Ball: Ball   общепринятое сокращение (обозначение) имени ботаника, которое добавляется к научным (латинским) названиям некоторых таксонов ботанической номенклатуры и указывает на то, что автором этих наименований является Болл, Джон… …   Википедия

  • Ball — Ball, n. [F. bal, fr. OF. baler to dance, fr. LL. ballare. Of uncertain origin; cf. Gr. ba llein to toss or throw, or pa llein, pa llesqai, to leap, bound, balli zein to dance, jump about; or cf. 1st {Ball}, n.] 1. A social assembly for the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Ball — Ball, v. t. 1. (Metal.) To heat in a furnace and form into balls for rolling. [1913 Webster] 2. To form or wind into a ball; as, to ball cotton. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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