speedball

1 of 2

noun

speed·​ball ˈspēd-ˌbȯl 

1

slang : a dose of cocaine mixed with heroin or morphine or an amphetamine and usually taken by injection

2

: a game which resembles soccer but in which a ball caught in the air may be passed with the hands and in which a score is made by kicking or heading the ball between the goalposts or by a successful forward pass over the goal line

3

: one that is outstandingly fast

speedball

2 of 2

verb

speedballed; speedballing; speedballs

intransitive verb

slang

: to take a speedball especially by injection

Examples of speedball in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

After a brief stint of sobriety, Belushi relapsed during the filming of the 1981 black comedy Neighbors and was found dead of a speedball (a caustic mixture of cocaine and heroin) overdose in his Chateau Marmont bungalow by his fitness trainer and bodyguard Bill Wallace on March 5, 1982. —Colin Scanlon, Redbook, 6 July 2023

Perry’s first film was 1988’s A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon, starring River Phoenix, who died from a speedball of heroin and cocaine in 1993. —Sarah Hepola, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2023

The fatal speedball shot was given to Belushi by drug dealer Cathy Smith who was later arrested and convicted of involuntary manslaughter for her role in the comedian’s untimely death after being extradited from Canada. —Colin Scanlon, Redbook, 6 July 2023

And like most drugs, this speedball doesn’t come cheap. —Tanner Bowden, Outside Online, 18 Aug. 2022

Some 18 months later, the 27-year-old Neo-expressionist master died from a speedball overdose. —Natasha Gural, Forbes, 30 Aug. 2021

One of the latest transplant recipients is the 2021 Dodge Charger Hellcat Redeye, a 797-hp speedball of nostalgia and excess. —Maxwell B. Mortimer, Car and Driver, 23 Nov. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1905, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1970, in the meaning defined above