balls 1 of 3

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
Henk's is also selling Dutch FIFA gear, including shirts, flags, hats, soccer balls, and keychains for fans looking to suit up for the big game. Dawn White, CBS News, 13 June 2026 Five of them will be white balls with numbers ranging from 1 to 70. Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 13 June 2026 On some TVs, overly aggressive motion blurring can also lead to ghosting or artifacts, such as soccer balls turning into streaks in the sky. Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 12 June 2026 Additionally, hopping balls usually come with a weight limit to prevent users from bursting the ball and injuring themselves in the process. Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 12 June 2026 Add it to the dryer with a couple of wool dryer balls, and set the temperature as low as possible. Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 12 June 2026 Chris has some big brass balls. Joe Kinsey Outkick, FOXNews.com, 12 June 2026 The store is 8,000 square feet with plenty of options to choose from as far as merch goes, including jerseys, Funko Pops, soccer balls and more. Kansas City Star, 12 June 2026 An overflowing duffle bag of tennis balls sat by the front door, the only chaos in a tidy house. Liana Handler follow, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 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
Noun
  • Directed by Claire Scanlon and written by Sarah Rothschild, the film is also produced by Elizabeth Cantillon and is one in a series of splashy projects hitting Prime Video in 2026, specifically in the summer and overlapping in the romance and book adaptation spheres.
    Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 11 June 2026
  • When wealth impedes authenticity, the consequences can extend well into economic, cultural, and civic spheres.
    David H. Rosmarin, Time, 10 June 2026
Noun
  • Bedbugs bite them at night and stray bullets fly before dawn.
    Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 17 June 2026
  • The two men were struck by bullets and taken to the hospital, police said.
    Nick Lentz, CBS News, 15 June 2026
Noun
  • In 1932 Berlin, a trans man named Bertie dances the nights away with his friends at the Eldorado Club, the hub of Berlin’s thriving LGBTQ+ community.
    Caroline Killilea, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026
  • This year festival-goers can tour the world with dances featuring everything from American hip-hop to Ukrainian folk dance.
    Anna Alejo, CBS News, 10 June 2026
Verb
  • Another small town, Coconut Creek, lies east, and Coral Springs rounds out the border to the north.
    Lydia Price, Travel + Leisure, 2 Dec. 2025
  • The Christmas Wreath Doughnut rounds out the Peanuts treats.
    Sabrina Weiss, PEOPLE, 24 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • In another Amsterdam photo, a pair of identical world globes, recalling Ghirri’s passion for cartography and atlases, rest on matching supports to conjure that oldest of surrealist tropes, a pair of staring eyes.
    James Quandt, Artforum, 2 June 2026
  • Besides dusting, this includes wiping off the lightbulbs, removing any light globes to wash and dry them, and wiping dust from the fan’s motor and pull chain with a microfiber cloth.
    Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 14 May 2026
Noun
  • Kelsey passes around a bowl of clam shells with questions written on them as Liz gnaws on a corn on the cob.
    Tom Smyth, Vulture, 15 June 2026
  • The madeleines are baked to order in actual scallop shells, and served with a side of jam.
    Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 14 June 2026
Noun
  • Their stores specialize in dresses for proms, weddings, special occasions and quinceañeras.
    Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2026
  • That philosophy extends across the property and informs its relationship with the local community, many of whom experienced the hotel through proms, weddings and milestone events over the decades.
    Jesse Scott, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
Verb
  • Burritt introduced Lutnick, telling the secretary as well as the workers that the investments here at this plant were going to be double what was originally estimated to replace the equipment that rolls steel.
    Salena Zito, The Washington Examiner, 14 June 2026
  • The Obama Presidential Center, which opens to the public on Friday, on Juneteenth, hugs the north end of Jackson Park, runs alongside a lagoon, rises 225 feet at its highest, and rolls backward down Stony Island Avenue, settling into 58,000 square feet of brilliantly green sloping lawn.
    Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 14 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Balls.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balls. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.

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