balls 1 of 3

Definition of ballsnext
plural of ball
1
as in spheres
a more or less round body or mass the little rubber ball used in racquetball a ball of string

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2
as in bullets
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

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balls

2 of 3

noun (2)

plural of ball

balls

3 of 3

verb

present tense third-person singular of ball
as in rounds
to form into a round compact mass balled up the paper and threw it at the garbage can

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of balls
Noun
While mice are mostly optical now (instead of using balls), dust can still stick on the buttons. Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 30 Apr. 2026 The Royals won the match by six wickets, with four balls left, to keep them in fourth on level points with Royal Challengers Bengalaru and Sunrisers Hyderabad, one point off the top spot. Jessica Hopkins, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2026 Five of them will be white balls numbered 1 to 69. Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2026 Tatis has hit 25 balls with an exit velocity of 105 mph or harder, tied for second most in the majors. Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 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 And, really, a good portion of those misses were shooter’s luck or lack of it, balls that rolled or bounced around the rim and fell out rather than falling in. Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 30 Apr. 2026 Orze issued six straight balls to begin the inning, one that would see the Mariners score three runs in their eventual 5-3 win over the Twins in the series finale on Wednesday afternoon at Target Field. Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 29 Apr. 2026 Other projectiles, including pistol shot and lead musket balls, were also found. Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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 Arrange dough balls 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. Holly Riordan, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Mar. 2026 Each team received their shipment of logo balls several weeks ago from the Wilson factory so that equipment managers would be able to properly prepare the footballs for their respective offenses. Kristi Scales jan. 5, Dallas Morning News, 5 Jan. 2026 Place balls 3 inches apart on 3 large baking sheets lined with parchment paper (about 12 cookies per sheet). Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 27 Nov. 2025 Defense overall just balls Two. Miami Herald, 26 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for balls
Verb
  • The final day of the 2026 NFL Draft is upon us — and the Miami Dolphins should be quite busy as first-year general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan rounds out his inaugural draft class.
    Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 25 Apr. 2026
  • For flatter, crispier cookies, bake the cookie dough rounds immediately.
    Shafiq Najib, ABC News, 24 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Joshua rolls past North Side Isabella Lambert threw a no-hitter and struck out 10 batters to lead Joshua past Fort Worth North Side 14-0 in 5 innings in their Class 5A Division II bi-district single-game series playoff on Thursday night at Joshua High School.
    Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Apr. 2026
  • From there, the mock drafts are all over the place, which is always a sign for some fun, and even chaos, as the draft rolls along.
    Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 23 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Balls.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balls. Accessed 1 May. 2026.

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