balled 1 of 2

balled

2 of 2

verb

past tense of ball
as in rolled
to form into a round compact mass balled up the paper and threw it at the garbage can

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 balled
Verb
Then there’s Cofie, who balled his way into a draft combine invite this spring, and Rice, whose name will be known in draft circles soon enough. Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2026 Newly installed balled and burlapped plants need about 1 inch of water per week — be sure the root ball is getting watered. Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 28 June 2026 The explosion had balled me up, shoved me aside, and pelted me with hot stones. Will MacKin, New Yorker, 28 June 2026 Lord described Walter Bedford as the night baker who cannon-balled into the ocean in chapter 6. Veronica Hinke, Baltimore Sun, 14 June 2026 Jokic came off a pin-down from Braun to catch on the right wing — again making Gobert chase him around a screen — but air-balled the 3-pointer. Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 23 Apr. 2026 Bare root trees and shrubs, as the name suggests, are not sold in a pot or balled and burlapped. Dr. Lauren Kurtz, Hartford Courant, 21 Feb. 2026 Pare raised both hands, balled in fists, pumping away. Brendan Quinn, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2026 The Knicks had a chance to cut Phoenix’s lead down to just four with under a minute left in regulation, but Karl-Anthony Towns air-balled a wide-open three at the top of the key. Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 18 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for balled
Adjective
  • Indeed, the Isaac 1 gets an unassuming Baymax-like pair of eyes set into a rounded rectangular head.
    Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 2 July 2026
  • For starters, Wavytalk’s original thermal brush was always excellent in smoothing hair and creating rounded ends for a faux blowout—this round brush attachment is just as good.
    Conçetta Ciarlo, Vogue, 1 July 2026
Verb
  • These include rolled or folded leaf blades, a dark or blue tinge to the foliage, or lingering footprints after walking on the lawn.
    Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 29 June 2026
  • According to court documents and body camera footage released publicly on June 26, 2026, the encounter escalated rapidly after the woman rolled her eyes in response to Carrico's questioning.
    Maia Niguel Hoskin, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026
Adjective
  • The ground shook beneath them and a giant face suddenly loomed above, its bulbous eyes inches from their bodies.
    Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 29 June 2026
  • The backside looks like a 1960s-era control panel, complete with a slightly bulbous, transparent camera plateau protecting the Glyph matrix from the elements.
    Florence Ion, PC Magazine, 27 June 2026
Verb
  • The Socks Are Inside Other Clothes Did the sock actually enter another space-time continuum—or did it get wadded up in someone's pant leg?
    Katie Cloyd, Martha Stewart, 5 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • Some dots resemble pairs of eyes; others appear as overlapping roundish figures.
    Shanti Escalante-De Mattei, ARTnews.com, 27 Apr. 2026
  • Bieber’s stage was large, roundish, and mostly bare, with a hilly ridge around the edges.
    Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • The facility will also include 50 production lines dedicated to manufacturing spherical micro- and nanodiamond powders used in advanced materials applications.
    Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 30 June 2026
  • Making Your Seashell Ice Spheres Grab a spherical ice mold, fill it with water, and set your seashell inside.
    Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 June 2026
Adjective
  • The pieces are abstract but appear to show featureless human figures sitting atop globular, cloud-like shapes that float in the air.
    Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, 7 June 2026
  • Nike engineered the globular Air units to be flexible and low to the ground.
    Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 17 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • The doc noted that Winne The Pooh is banned in China after its president was once compared to the rotund bear of the classic children’s story.
    Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 6 June 2026
  • Joe Gargery, comparing slices of bread; the rotund voice of Mr Jaggers in Great Expectations.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 May 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Balled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balled. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on balled

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster