ball
[noun]
Synonyms: sphere, drop, globe, globule, orb, pellet, spheroid

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Contrasted words: block, cube, dice, chunk, hunk, lump, disperse, spread, strew
Related Words: egg, oval, ovoid, bead, pill, clot, wad

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English Thesaurus: dance, ball, prom, formal, disco, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

Ball, Lu‧cille /luːˈsiːl/
⇒ I Love Lucy

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

I. ball¹ S1 W2 /bɔːl $ bɒːl/ noun
[Sense 1-7, 10-17: Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old Norse; Origin: böllr]
[Sense 8-9: Date: 1600-1700; Language: French; Origin: bal, from Old French baller 'to dance', from Late Latin ballare, from Greek ballizein]

1. ROUND OBJECT [countable] a round object that is thrown, kicked, or hit in a game or sport
throw/hit/kick/catch etc a ball
Weiskopf hit the ball 330 yards and a cheer went up.
a tennis/golf/cricket etc ball

2. ROUND SHAPE [countable] something formed or rolled into a round shape:
a ball of string
Shape the dough into balls.

3. GAME/SPORT [uncountable] any game or sport played with a ball, especially baseball or basketball:
D'you want to go out and play ball?
Dad likes college ball.

4. FOOT/HAND the ball of the foot/hand the rounded part of the foot at the base of the toes, or the rounded part of the hand at the base of the thumb

5. on the ball informal able to think or act quickly and intelligently:
an assistant who’s really on the ball

6. set/start/keep the ball rolling to start something happening:
To start the ball rolling, the government was asked to contribute £1 million.

7. the ball is in sb’s court it is their turn to take action or to reply:
I’ve emailed him – now the ball’s in his court.

8. FORMAL OCCASION [countable] a large formal occasion at which people dance

9. have a ball informal to have a very good time

10. balls [plural] informal not polite
a) testicles
b) courage:
I didn’t have the balls to ask.
c) British English spoken something that is stupid or wrong Synonym : nonsense:
That’s a load of balls! ⇒ balls¹

11. a fast/good/long 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.

12. CRICKET no ball a ball that is thrown too high, low etc towards someone trying to hit it, in the game of cricket or rounders

13. BASEBALL no ball [countable] a ball that the hitter does not try to hit, because it is not within the correct area

14. the whole ball of wax American English informal the whole thing Synonym : everything

15. a ball of fire informal someone who has a lot of energy and enthusiasm

16. keep several/too many etc balls in the air to struggle to deal with more than one problem or job at the same time:
The company just won’t be able to keep that many balls in the air.

17. drop the ball (also take your eye off the ball) to make a mistake when dealing with something because you stop thinking carefully or paying attention

18. ball-buster/ball-breaker informal
a) a problem that is very difficult to deal with
b) an offensive word for a woman who uses her authority over men
⇒ cannonball, crystal ball, wrecking ball, ⇒ play ball at play¹(7)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. ball² verb [transitive]

1. (also ball up) to make something form a small round shape:
Ray balled up his fists.

2. American English informal not polite to have sex with a woman

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

ball
noun costume, fancy dress, masked
I. round object in games We're going to a masked ball.
ADJ. billiard, cricket, golf, rugby,
VERB + BALL have, hold, organize tennis, etc. | beach | match, We're organizing a charity ball.
practice attend, go to
VERB + BALL play with | bat, blast,
BALL + NOUN gown bounce, bowl, chip, dribble,
ADJ. at a/the ~ She met him at
head, hit, kick, roll, strike, throw The kids love to kick a ball against my wall.the college ball.
clear, cross, pass | catch, stop He caught the ball.
control, trap | chase She chased the ball all over the pitch.
retrieve, run down | return The fielders try to retrieve the ball quickly and return it to the bowler.
miss The goalkeeper missed the ball.
drop, let go of Oh no! He's dropped the ball.
handle | give away, lose | win | retain
BALL + VERB fly, go, roll, sail The ball flew over the bar into the sea of Middlesbrough fans. The ball's gone over the fence.
hit, land The ball hit the wall and rolled along the road.
bounce, rebound
BALL + NOUN game | control, skills His ball control was excellent.
 ⇒ Special page at SPORT

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

ball
II. kick/hit of a ball
ADJ. good, great, superb | bad, loose | high, low He sent over a high ball.
long, short | quick, slow | cross, through a superb through ball from John Scott
hand He was penalized for hand ball.
VERB + BALL play, send | pick up, pounce on, punish He pounced on a loose ball and scored.
PREP. ~ from a great ball from Beckham

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

ball
III. round object like a ball
ADJ. tight | fiery The sun was a fiery ball, low on the hills.
crystal (= used for telling fortunes) Without a crystal ball it's impossible to say where we'll be next year.
cannon, musket
VERB + BALL curl/roll (up) into The little girl curled up into a ball in her mother's arms.
form/make sth into, roll/screw sth (up) into, shape sth into He screwed the letter up into a tight ball.
PHRASES a ball of fire/flame, a ball of string/wool
PHRASES a ball and chain (figurative) The responsibility was a ball and chain around my ankle.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

ball
III. party
ADJ. college, charity, hunt |

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

ball

throw a ball
Suzy threw the ball to Matthew.
catch a ball
He’s useless at sport; he can’t even catch a ball.
hit a ball
He swung the bat back and hit the ball hard.
kick a ball
Greg kicked the ball upfield to Will.
bounce a ball
He was in the yard bouncing a ball against the wall.
get the ball
Then the Cowboys got the ball again.
miss a ball (=not catch or hit it)
I was trying hard but I kept missing the ball.
a ball rolls
The ball just rolled past the hole.
a ball flies/sails
The ball flew over the goalkeeper’s head and into the net.
a ball bounces
In tennis, the ball must only bounce once.
a ball rebounds (=hits something and moves back and away from it again)
The ball hit the goalpost and rebounded.
a tennis/cricket/golf/rugby etc ball
She was practising hitting golf balls.
a ping-pong/billiard/snooker etc ball
He was bouncing around like a ping-pong ball.
a beach ball (=a large light ball used on the beach)
Dad, will you blow up the beach ball?
a ball game
He’s always watching ball games on TV.
ball skills
Practising ball skills helps a child’s coordination.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

dance an organized social event where people to go dance:
The dance will be held in the school gym.
ball a large formal occasion where people dance:
The University holds a ball at the end of June.
prom a formal dance party for high school students, especially in the US, usually held at the end of a school year:
Who’s your date for the prom?
formal American English a dance at which you must wear formal clothes:
He rented a tuxedo to wear to his company’s holiday formal.
disco a place or social event where people dance to recorded popular music:
She met Nick at a school disco.
club/nightclub a place where people go at night to dance:
We went out for dinner and then to a club.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

do to do something – used in the following phrases: do your work/homework etc:
It usually takes me a couple of hours to do my homework.
⇒ do the shopping/cooking/washing etc:
She’s gone to the supermarket to do the shopping.
⇒ do a test/experiment/some research:
The doctor did some tests.
Fraser spent some time in Egypt doing some archaeological research.
Scientists are doing research on two types of vaccine.
⇒ do a course:
Have you decided which course you want to do at university?
make to do something – used in the following phrases: make a speech:
The Prince made a short speech.
⇒ make a comment/suggestion/joke:
Can I make a suggestion?
⇒ make a decision:
The committee will meet to make their final decision.
⇒ make a mistake:
I think someone has made a mistake.
give to do something – used in the following phrases: give a talk/speech/lecture:
They’ve asked him to give a talk.
⇒ give a performance:
The band gave a brilliant performance.
take to do something – used in the following phrases: take a test/exam:
Kate’s taking her driving test tomorrow.
⇒ take a bath/shower:
I think I’ll go and take a shower.
⇒ take a walk:
Normally, he took a walk in the evenings.
commit to do something that is a crime, especially a serious crime: commit a crime:
The crime was committed in the early hours of the morning.
⇒ commit a robbery/murder etc:
Dixon later admitted committing the robbery.
carry out something to do something – used in the following phrases: carry out your work:
The violence is making it difficult for firefighters to carry out their work.
⇒ carry out a task/duty:
He still managed to carry out his duties.
⇒ carry out a survey/test/some research:
The hospital carries out research into skin diseases.
⇒ carry out an operation:
The operation was carried out at a hospital in Paris.
⇒ carry out a threat/promise:
They didn’t carry out their threat to kill the hostages.
⇒ carry out sb’s orders/instructions/wishes:
I’m sure I can rely on you to carry out my instructions.
perform to do something. Perform is more formal than carry out, and is used in the following phrases: perform a task/duty:
The job mostly involves performing administrative tasks.
⇒ perform an operation:
A team of surgeons performed the operation.
conduct to do something – used in the following phrases: conduct a survey/study/experiment:
They conducted a survey of approximately 2,000 people living in the area.
⇒ conduct an inquiry/investigation:
The police are conducting an investigation into the cause of the fire.
⇒ conduct an interview:
Knowing how to conduct a successful interview is a skill.
⇒ conduct a campaign:
People were unimpressed by the way in which the election campaign was conducted.
go about something to do your work or the things that you usually do, especially when something serious has happened: go about your work/business:
The next day she went about her business as if nothing had happened.
get on with something spoken especially British English to start doing something that you should have started already or to continue doing something that you stopped doing for a short time:
I need to get on with my homework.
be up to something spoken to be doing something that you think is probably bad, although you do not know exactly what it is:
I’m sure they’re up to something.
What’s Jake up to? He’s been upstairs in his room all day.
party a social event when a lot of people meet together to enjoy themselves by eating, drinking, dancing etc:
We’re having a party for Sarah’s 40th birthday.
I met my boyfriend at a party.
get-together an informal party:
Christmas is the perfect time for a family get-together.
ball a large formal party where people dance:
the end of term ball
rave a large party which is held outside or in an empty building, where people dance to music and take illegal drugs
reception a large formal party, especially one after a wedding or to welcome an important person:
The wedding reception is at a nearby hotel.
a reception for the Thai Foreign Minister
They attended a White House reception to mark the Queen’s visit.
function a large formal or official party:
He has been asked to play at many corporate functions (=an official party held by a company).
celebration a party or special event that is organized in order to celebrate something:
the country’s 50th anniversary celebrations
It was a 21st birthday celebration which Mary would never forget.
bash informal a party, especially a big one that a lot of famous people go to – used especially in journalism:
the star’s birthday bash
a picture of him at a Hollywood bash
a showbiz bash
dinner party a party where people are invited to someone’s house for an evening meal:
I met him at a dinner party.
house-warming (party) a party that you have when you move into a new house:
We’re having a house-warming next week.
cocktail party (also drinks party British English) a party that people go to in order to talk and have a drink together for a few hours
fancy-dress party British English, costume party American English a party where people dress in special clothes, for example to look like a famous person or a character in a story
hen party especially British English a social event just before a wedding, for a woman who is getting married and her female friends
stag night British English, bachelor party American English a social event just before a wedding, for a man who is getting married and his male friends
baby/wedding shower American English an event at which people give presents to a woman who is going to have a baby or get married

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

party a social event when a lot of people meet together to enjoy themselves by eating, drinking, dancing etc:
We’re having a party for Sarah’s 40th birthday.
I met my boyfriend at a party.
get-together an informal party:
Christmas is the perfect time for a family get-together.
ball a large formal party where people dance:
the end of term ball
rave a large party which is held outside or in an empty building, where people dance to music and take illegal drugs
reception a large formal party, especially one after a wedding or to welcome an important person:
The wedding reception is at a nearby hotel.
a reception for the Thai Foreign Minister
They attended a White House reception to mark the Queen’s visit.
function a large formal or official party:
He has been asked to play at many corporate functions (=an official party held by a company).
celebration a party or special event that is organized in order to celebrate something:
the country’s 50th anniversary celebrations
It was a 21st birthday celebration which Mary would never forget.
bash informal a party, especially a big one that a lot of famous people go to – used especially in journalism:
the star’s birthday bash
a picture of him at a Hollywood bash
a showbiz bash
do British English informal a party:
We’re having a do to celebrate Margaret’s birthday.
dinner party a party where people are invited to someone’s house for an evening meal:
I met him at a dinner party.
house-warming (party) a party that you have when you move into a new house:
We’re having a house-warming next week.
cocktail party (also drinks party British English) a party that people go to in order to talk and have a drink together for a few hours
fancy-dress party British English, costume party American English a party where people dress in special clothes, for example to look like a famous person or a character in a story
hen party especially British English a social event just before a wedding, for a woman who is getting married and her female friends
stag night British English, bachelor party American English a social event just before a wedding, for a man who is getting married and his male friends
baby/wedding shower American English an event at which people give presents to a woman who is going to have a baby or get married

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

ball
̈ɪbɔ:l
See: base on balls , carry the ball , fly ball , foul ball , get the ball rolling , set the ball rolling , start the ball rolling , gopher ball , ground ball , have a hall , have something on the ball , jump ball , keep the ball. rolling , long ball , on the ball , passed ball , play ball

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲