blackball
verb /ˈblækbɔːl/
/ˈblækbɔːl/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they blackball | /ˈblækbɔːl/ /ˈblækbɔːl/ |
| he / she / it blackballs | /ˈblækbɔːlz/ /ˈblækbɔːlz/ |
| past simple blackballed | /ˈblækbɔːld/ /ˈblækbɔːld/ |
| past participle blackballed | /ˈblækbɔːld/ /ˈblækbɔːld/ |
| -ing form blackballing | /ˈblækbɔːlɪŋ/ /ˈblækbɔːlɪŋ/ |
- blackball somebody to prevent somebody from joining a club or a group by voting against them
- He was blackballed when he tried to join the Country Club.
Word Originlate 18th cent.: from the practice of registering an adverse vote by placing a black ball in a ballot box.