noun | verb
ballball1 /bɔl/ ●●● S1 W1 noun 1
ROUND OBJECT [countable] a round object that is thrown, kicked, or hit in a game or sport: The girl threw the red rubber ball up into the air. Try to catch the ball. We were kicking a soccer ball around.2ROUND SHAPE [countable] something formed or rolled into a round shape: The cat was playing with a ball of yarn. Shape the dough into balls.3GAME/SPORT [uncountable] any game or sport played with a ball, especially baseball or basketball: Do you want to go out and play ball? Dad likes to watch college ball.4on the ball informal thinking or acting quickly and intelligently: If I’d been more on the ball, I would have noticed the problem.5set/start the ball rolling to make a process or activity start: To start the ball rolling, you need to fill out a complaint form.6have a ball informal to have a very good time: The kids had a ball building sandcastles.7BASEBALL [countable] a ball thrown in baseball that the hitter does not try to hit because it is not within the correct area8MOVEMENT OF A BALL [countable] the movement of a ball when it is thrown, hit, or kicked in a game: The next ball came high and fast.a fast/curve/breaking etc. ball (=a fast, curving, dropping, etc. ball thrown in baseball)9[countable] the ball of the foot/hand/thumb the rounded part of the foot at the base of the toe, rounded part of the hand at the base of the thumb → see also eyeball1 (1)10the ball is in your court it is your turn to take action or to reply: We’ve made our proposal; the ball’s in their court now.11DANCE [countable] a large formal occasion at which people dance12BULLET [countable] a round bullet fired from a type of gun that was used in past times13the whole ball of wax informal the whole thing SYN everything: Benton is in charge of marketing, personnel, sales – the whole ball of wax.14a ball of fire someone who has a lot of energy and is active and successful[Origin: (1-8, 20, 12-14) 1200–1300 Old Norse böllr] → see also play ball at play1 (8), → drop1 (19)COLLOCATIONSverbsthrow a ball Suzy threw the ball to Matthew.catch a ball He caught the ball and started to run.hit a ball He swung the bat and hit the ball as hard as he could.kick a ball Eva kicked the ball to me.bounce a ball He was in the yard bouncing a ball against the wall.pass a ball (=kick or throw it to someone) He passed the ball to his teammate.get the ball (=take the ball from the opposing team) Then the Cowboys got the ball again.drop/fumble the ball He ran in to score when the goalie dropped the ball.miss the ball (=not catch or hit it) I was trying hard but I kept missing the ball.head the ball (=hit a ball with your head in a game of soccer) Beckham headed the ball into the top corner.move the ball (=kicking or throwing a ball toward a goal) He does a great job of moving the ball down the field.strike the ball (=hit or kick it hard) He struck the golf ball 180 yards.run with the ball We were all impressed by his ability to run with the ball and score goals.give away/lose the ball (=allow the opposing team to get the ball) After Jones lost the ball, the other team scored.dribble the ball (=move the ball along with you by kicking or bouncing it) He was trying to dribble the ball past his opponents.run the ball (=run while holding the ball in a football game) The Steelers were able to run the ball and win the game.keep the ball (=not give it to the opposing team) The team kept the ball for almost ten minutes.a ball rolls The ball rolled just past the hole.a ball bounces In tennis, the ball must only bounce once.a ball goes/flies/sails (=moves through the air) The ball flew over the goalkeeper’s head and into the net.a ball hits something The ball hit the ground once before bouncing over the line.a ball rebounds (=hits something and moves back and away from it again) The ball hit the goalpost and rebounded.adjectives/nouns + balla tennis/soccer/golf etc. ball She was practicing hitting golf balls.a beach ball (=a large light ball that you blow air into to make it round) Dad, will you blow up the beach ball?a foul ball (=a ball that goes outside the limits of a playing field) A fan in the stands caught a foul ball that the baseball player hit.a loose ball (=a ball that is not under the control of either team in a game) He was the first player to reach the loose ball.a fly ball (=a ball that has been hit into the air in a game of baseball) The batter hit a fly ball into center field. noun | verb
ballball2 verb [transitive] (also ball up) to form something into a small round shape so that it takes up less space