Ball

8 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Ball \Ball\ (b[add]l), n. [OE. bal, balle; akin to OHG. balla,
     palla, G. ball, Icel. b["o]llr, ball; cf. F. balle. Cf. 1st
     {Bale}, n., {Pallmall}.]
     1. Any round or roundish body or mass; a sphere or globe; as,
        a ball of twine; a ball of snow.
        [1913 Webster]


  
     2. A spherical body of any substance or size used to play
        with, as by throwing, knocking, kicking, etc.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. A general name for games in which a ball is thrown,
        kicked, or knocked. See {Baseball}, and {Football}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. Any solid spherical, cylindrical, or conical projectile of
        lead or iron, to be discharged from a firearm; as, a
        cannon ball; a rifle ball; -- often used collectively; as,
        powder and ball. Spherical balls for the smaller firearms
        are commonly called {bullets}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. (Pyrotechnics & Mil.) A flaming, roundish body shot into
        the air; a case filled with combustibles intended to burst
        and give light or set fire, or to produce smoke or stench;
        as, a fire ball; a stink ball.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     6. (Print.) A leather-covered cushion, fastened to a handle
        called a ballstock; -- formerly used by printers for
        inking the form, but now superseded by the roller.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     7. A roundish protuberant portion of some part of the body;
        as, the ball of the thumb; the ball of the foot.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     8. (Far.) A large pill, a form in which medicine is commonly
        given to horses; a bolus. --White.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     9. The globe or earth. --Pope.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Move round the dark terrestrial ball. --Addison.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     10. (Baseball) A pitched ball, not struck at by the batter,
         which fails to pass over the home plate at a height not
         greater than the batter's shoulder nor less than his knee
         (i.e. it is outside the strike zone). If the pitcher
         pitches four balls before three strikes are called, the
         batter advances to first base, and the action of pitching
         four balls is called a walk.
         [Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC]
  
     10. a testicle; usually used in the plural. [vulgar]
         [PJC]
  
     11. pl. courage; nerve. [vulgar]
         [PJC]
  
     {Ball and socket joint}, a joint in which a ball moves within
        a socket, so as to admit of motion in every direction
        within certain limits.
  
     {Ball bearings}, a mechanical device for lessening the
        friction of axle bearings by means of small loose metal
        balls.
  
     {Ball cartridge}, a cartridge containing a ball, as
        distinguished from a blank cartridge, containing only
        powder.
  
     {Ball cock}, a faucet or valve which is opened or closed by
        the fall or rise of a ball floating in water at the end of
        a lever.
  
     {Ball gudgeon}, a pivot of a spherical form, which permits
        lateral deflection of the arbor or shaft, while retaining
        the pivot in its socket. --Knight.
  
     {Ball lever}, the lever used in a ball cock.
  
     {Ball of the eye}, the eye itself, as distinguished from its
        lids and socket; -- formerly, the pupil of the eye.
  
     {Ball valve} (Mach.), a contrivance by which a ball, placed
        in a circular cup with a hole in its bottom, operates as a
        valve.
  
     {Ball vein} (Mining), a sort of iron ore, found in loose
        masses of a globular form, containing sparkling particles.
        
  
     {Three balls}, or {Three golden balls}, a pawnbroker's sign
        or shop.
  
     {on the ball} alert; competent and knowledgeable.
  
     {to carry the ball} to carry on the task; to assume the
        responsibility.
  
     {to drop the ball} to fail to perform as expected; to fail to
        live up to a responsibility.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Syn: See {Globe}.
          [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Ball \Ball\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Balled} (b[add]ld); p. pr. &
     vb. n. {Balling}.]
     To gather balls which cling to the feet, as of damp snow or
     clay; to gather into balls; as, the horse balls; the snow
     balls.
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Ball \Ball\, v. t.
     1. (Metal.) To heat in a furnace and form into balls for
        rolling.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To form or wind into a ball; as, to ball cotton.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Ball \Ball\, n. [F. bal, fr. OF. baler to dance, fr. LL.
     ballare. Of uncertain origin; cf. Gr. ba`llein to toss or
     throw, or pa`llein, pa`llesqai, to leap, bound, balli`zein to
     dance, jump about; or cf. 1st {Ball}, n.]
     1. A social assembly for the purpose of dancing; -- usually
        applied to an occasion lavish or formal.
        [1913 Webster +PJC]
  
     2. A very enjoyable time; as, we had a ball at the wedding.
        [PJC]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  ball
       n 1: round object that is hit or thrown or kicked in games; "the
            ball travelled 90 mph on his serve"; "the mayor threw
            out the first ball"; "the ball rolled into the corner
            pocket"
       2: a solid ball shot by a musket; "they had to carry a ramrod
          as well as powder and ball" [syn: {musket ball}]
       3: an object with a spherical shape; "a ball of fire" [syn: {globe},
           {orb}]
       4: the people assembled at a lavish formal dance; "the ball was
          already emptying out before the fire alarm sounded"
       5: one of the two male reproductive glands that produce
          spermatozoa and secrete androgens; "she kicked him in the
          balls and got away" [syn: {testis}, {testicle}, {orchis},
          {ballock}, {bollock}, {nut}, {egg}]
       6: a spherical object used as a plaything; "he played with his
          rubber ball in the bathtub"
       7: United States comedienne best known as the star of a popular
          television program (1911-1989) [syn: {Lucille Ball}]
       8: a compact mass; "a ball of mud caught him on the shoulder"
          [syn: {clod}, {glob}, {lump}, {clump}, {chunk}]
       9: a lavish formal dance
       10: a more or less rounded anatomical body or mass; ball of the
           human foot or ball at the base of the thumb; "he stood on
           the balls of his feet"
       11: a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of
           9 players; teams take turns at bat trying to score run;
           "he played baseball in high school"; "there was a
           baseball game on every empy lot"; "there was a desire for
           National League ball in the area"; "play ball!" [syn: {baseball},
            {baseball game}]
       12: a pitch that is not in the strike zone; "he threw nine
           straight balls before the manager yanked him"
       v : form into a ball by winding or rolling; "ball wool"

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  257 Moby Thesaurus words for "ball":
     Kaffeeklatsch, action, agate, assemblee, assembly, assignation,
     at home, bal, bal costume, bal masque, ball bearing, balloon,
     bar shot, barn dance, baseball, baseball bat, basketball, bat,
     battledore, bauble, be intimate, bead, big time, bird shot,
     bladder, blob, blocks, blowout, boll, bolus, bowl, brawl, bubble,
     buckshot, bulb, bulbil, bulblet, bullet, cannon shot, cannonball,
     case shot, caucus, checkerboard, chessboard, clew, clot, club,
     cockhorse, cocktail party, coffee klatch, cohabit, colloquium,
     come together, commission, commit adultery, committee, conclave,
     concourse, conglobulate, congregation, congress, conventicle,
     convention, convocation, copulate, costume party, council,
     country dance, couple, cover, cricket bat, crossbar shot, cue,
     dance, date, diddle, diet, dinner, dinner party, discus, doll,
     doll carriage, donation party, duck shot, dumdum bullet, egg,
     eisteddfod, ejecta, ejectamenta, ellipsoid, ensphere,
     entertainment, expanding bullet, fancy-dress ball, festivity, fete,
     football, forgathering, fornicate, forum, frig, fun, fun and games,
     funmaking, game, garden party, gathering, geoid, get-together,
     gewgaw, gimcrack, globe, globelet, globoid, globule, glomerulus,
     gob, gobbet, golf club, good time, grape, grapeshot, great fun,
     handball, have sex, have sexual relations, hen party,
     high old time, high time, hobbyhorse, hop, house party,
     house-raising, housewarming, jack-in-the-box, jacks, jackstones,
     jackstraws, kickshaw, knickknack, knob, knot, langrel shot, laughs,
     lawn party, lay, levee, lie with, lovely time, make it with,
     make love, make out, manstopping bullet, marble, marionette, mask,
     masked ball, masque, masquerade, masquerade ball, masquerade party,
     mate, meet, meeting, mig, missile, mixer, mothball, mount,
     mushroom, oblate spheroid, orb, orbit, orblet, oval, ovoid, panel,
     paper doll, party, pellet, pick-up sticks, picnic, pill, pinball,
     pinwheel, play, plaything, pleasant time, plenum, projectile,
     prolate spheroid, prom, promenade, puppet, pushball, quoit, quorum,
     racket, rag doll, rally, reception, record hop, rendezvous,
     rifle ball, rocking horse, rondure, round, round shot, rubber ball,
     screw, seance, serve, service, session, shell, shindig, shindy,
     shot, shower, shrapnel, sit-in, sitting, sleep with, slug, smoker,
     snowball, softball, soiree, sphere, spherify, spheroid, spherule,
     split shot, sport, square dance, stag, stag dance, stag party,
     steelie, surprise party, symposium, synod, taw, tea dance,
     teetotum, tetherball, the dansant, top, toy, toy soldier,
     trajectile, trinket, turnout, volleyball, wad, whiffle ball,
     whim-wham
  
  

From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]:

  Ball, LA (town, FIPS 4055)
    Location: 31.41825 N, 92.41005 W
    Population (1990): 3305 (1260 housing units)
    Area: 20.9 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)

From U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000) [gaz-place]:

  Ball, LA -- U.S. town in Louisiana
     Population (2000):    3681
     Housing Units (2000): 1524
     Land area (2000):     8.034863 sq. miles (20.810198 sq. km)
     Water area (2000):    0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
     Total area (2000):    8.034863 sq. miles (20.810198 sq. km)
     FIPS code:            04055
     Located within:       Louisiana (LA), FIPS 22
     Location:             31.407930 N, 92.402316 W
     ZIP Codes (1990):    
     Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
     Headwords:
      Ball, LA
      Ball