1
as in sphere
a more or less round body or mass
the little rubber ball used in racquetball a ball of string
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bullet
a usually round or cone-shaped little piece of lead made to be fired from a firearm
found a cache of musket balls while excavating the old fort
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ball
Andrew Greif, NBC news, 10 Jan. 2026
Instead, the Nets have leaned into Porter’s off-ball instincts.
—C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 10 Jan. 2026
Clare Sebastian, CNN Money, 25 Nov. 2025
The defense was balling out and getting a lot of stops.
—Anne Erickson, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ball
Noun
Blockers and tacklers were also forbidden from moving until the ball was caught, or touched the ground, reducing the number of full-speed collisions.
—Verb
And that may explain in part, argued Orysia Lutsevych, deputy director of the Russia-Eurasia program at Chatham House, why Russia is banking on slow-balling this new diplomatic push by the US, while making Trump believe it is still engaged.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for ball
Verb
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Watching the carousel go round and round and standing patiently as other people pull their luggage from the lineup with no evidence of your bag in sight is pure torture.—
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Cake mix, lemon pie filling, and butter come together in the oven to create crisp edges and a gooey, citrusy center, while a little cream cheese in the mix rounds out the lemon’s brightness.—
Verb
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The line has rolled together for the last four games.—
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That lasted all of two minutes, with Green leaving the game again after rolling his left ankle defending a Leonard drive.—
Cite this Entry
“Ball.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ball. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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