- ball
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 round object in gamesADJECTIVE▪ bowling, cricket, golf, ping-pong/Ping-Pong™, rugby, soccer (esp. AmE), tennis, etc.▪ beach▪ match, practice▪ rubberVERB + BALL▪ play with▪ head, hit, kick▪
The kids love to kick a ball against my wall.
▪ throw, toss▪ bowl, pitch▪ bat, blast, drive, pound, strike▪ roll▪ bounce, dribble▪ chip, volley▪ clear, cross, pass▪ move, run▪ catch, stop▪He caught the ball.
▪ control, trap▪ get, grab, steal▪ chase▪ retrieve, run down▪ return▪The fielders try to retrieve the ball quickly and return it to the bowler.
▪ miss▪The catcher missed the ball.
▪ drop, let go of▪Oh no! He's dropped the ball.
▪ handle, touch▪ give away (BrE), lose▪ win (esp. BrE)▪ keep, retain (BrE)BALL + VERB▪ go, travel▪ float, fly, roll, sail, soar▪The ball flew over the fence.
▪ spin▪ hit, land, strike▪The ball hit me on the head.
▪ bounce, rebound, ricochetBALL + NOUN▪ game▪ control, handling, skills▪His ball control was excellent.
▪ carrier, handler (both AmE)▪He's an excellent ball handler.
2 (AmE) baseballADJECTIVE▪ college▪ pro, professionalVERB + BALL▪ playBALL + NOUN▪ player▪ team▪ cap3 kick/hit of a ballADJECTIVE▪ loose▪ high, low▪He sent over a high ball.
▪ long, short▪ quick, slow▪ good, great, superb (all esp. BrE)▪ bad (esp. BrE)▪ curve (= that changes direction unpredictably) (esp. AmE)▪The plot throws a few curve balls along the way to keep you guessing. (figurative)
▪ foul▪ hand (usually handball) (in football/soccer)▪He was penalized for handball.
VERB + BALL▪ play, send▪ pick up, pounce on, punish▪He pounced on a loose ball and scored.
PREPOSITION▪ ball from▪a great ball from Rooney
4 round object like a ballADJECTIVE▪ tight▪ fiery▪The sun was a fiery ball, low on the hills.
▪ crystal▪Without a crystal ball it's impossible to say where we'll be next year.
▪ cannon▪ wrecking▪ cotton (AmE)▪ disco▪ medicine (= heavy ball used as a weight)VERB + BALL▪ curl (up) into, roll (up) into▪The little girl curled up into a ball in her mother's arms.
▪ form sth into, make sth into, roll sth (up) into, screw sth (up) into, shape sth into▪He screwed the letter up into a tight ball.
PHRASES▪ a ball and chain (figurative)▪The responsibility was a ball and chain around my ankle.
5 partyADJECTIVE▪ charity (esp. BrE), college (BrE), hunt (BrE)▪ costume, fancy-dress (esp. BrE), masked▪We're going to a masked ball.
VERB + BALL▪ have, hold, organize▪We're organizing a charity ball.
▪ attend, go toBALL + NOUN▪ dress, gownPREPOSITION▪ at a/the ball▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}She met him at the ball.
verbBall is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑fistBall is used with these nouns as the object: ↑fist
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
