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
Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 30 Apr. 2026
How to play Powerball lottery game To score a jackpot in Powerball, a player must match all five white balls and the red Powerball.
—Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 30 Apr. 2026
Walter Villa, Miami Herald, 20 Mar. 2026
The second and third outs were called third strikes, both of them initially balls before All-Star catcher Realmuto challenged through the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS), or so called robot umpires, that will be used in the regular season for the first time this year.
—CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ball
Noun
Each figure has a soccer ball at its side.
—Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 30 Apr. 2026
How to play Powerball lottery game To score a jackpot in Powerball, a player must match all five white balls and the red Powerball.
—Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 30 Apr. 2026
Verb
The bad news for local college basketball fans is that Crutchfield – according to multiple sources – has declined to interview for the job at FIU due to the changing landscape of NCAA Division I ball.
—Walter Villa, Miami Herald, 20 Mar. 2026
The second and third outs were called third strikes, both of them initially balls before All-Star catcher Realmuto challenged through the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS), or so called robot umpires, that will be used in the regular season for the first time this year.
—CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ball
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ball
Verb
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The film will mark Sendijarević’s English-language debut and is expected to round out its international cast in the coming months.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
28 Apr. 2026
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The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes), Emma Ho (The Baker), Noah Alexander Sosnowski (Section 8) and Gabriel Barbosa (May December) round out the cast.—
Ryan Gajewski,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Harbaugh seemed tense during his Friday press conference sitting next to GM Joe Schoen as the second round of the draft rolled on compared to a much more positive Thursday interview after the first round.—
Pat Leonard,
New York Daily News,
25 Apr. 2026
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Making the event even more significant, Rivian actually launched production of the R2 on Wednesday, with the first customer-ready vehicle rolling off the line — despite the Normal factory being hit by a tornado last week.—
Robert Channick,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ball.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ball. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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