ball game

noun

variants or ballgame

ˈbȯl-ˌgām 

plural ball games or ballgames

1

: a game played with a ball

We have to take care of the basketball. If you don't have the basketball it's hard to win a ball game.

—LaToya Bennett, quoted in The Huntsville (Texas) Item

… returned a punt for a touchdown in the first half of the football game to help Georgia earn their first points of the ball game.

—Jonathan Williams

especially, US : a baseball game

… Lyons was thrown out trying to steal third to end the ball game …

—Mark Starr

2

informal

a

: a set of circumstances : situation

Driving in Britain is a different ball game.

—Robert Lacville

… once that blaze surged across the river, it would be a whole new ball game.

—Jeffrey J. Smith

b

: contest sense 1

… on Mar. 17, the candidates must stagger to high-stakes caucuses in Michigan, Mississippi, South Carolina, Arkansas, and Kentucky. The ball game could be over by Mar. 20 …

—Business Week

Synonyms

• battle
• combat
• competition
• conflict
• confrontation
• contention
• contest
• dogfight
• duel
• face-off
• grapple
• match
• rivalry
• strife
• struggle
• sweepstakes
• sweep-stake
• tug-of-war
• war
• warfare

Examples of ball game in a Sentence

He was popular because he was good at ball games.

Dad took us to a ball game.

watching a ball game on TV

Recent Examples on the Web

Castellanos hit a home run in the sixth inning to tie the ball game at 3-3, and then scored the go-ahead run in the eighth that put Philadelphia ahead 6-4. —Johannes Sasay-Wada, CNN, 7 Oct. 2024

The Yankees won the American League East division title with a 95-67 record but lost the Division Series in five ball games to the Los Angeles Angels. —Wayne G. McDonnell, Jr., Forbes, 15 Sep. 2024

With two outs, a runner in scoring position and a tie ball game in the ninth inning against the San Diego Padres, Astros second baseman Jose Altuve chopped a ball down the third base line, which ended in a ground out. —Leah Vann, Chron, 18 Sep. 2024

Day games bring the heat Clark expressed concerns for players’ safety during ball games on an artificial turf because of Sacramento temperatures, which have been consistently high recently and often reach triple digits in the summer. —Elise Fisher, Sacramento Bee, 19 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1760, in the meaning defined at sense 1