# ball

> English word · Noun · IPA /bɔl/ · frequency rank #961

## Definitions
1. A solid or hollow sphere, or roughly spherical mass.
2. A solid or hollow sphere, or roughly spherical mass.
3. Homologue or analogue of a disk in the Euclidean plane.
4. Homologue or analogue of a disk in the Euclidean plane.
5. Homologue or analogue of a disk in the Euclidean plane.
6. A solid, spherical nonexplosive missile for a cannon, rifle, gun, etc.
7. A solid, spherical nonexplosive missile for a cannon, rifle, gun, etc.
8. A roundish, protuberant portion of some part of the body.
9. A roundish, protuberant portion of some part of the body.
10. The globe; the earthly sphere.
11. An object that is the focus of many sports and games, in which it may be thrown, caught, kicked, bounced, rolled, chased, retrieved, hit with an instrument, spun, etc., usually roughly spherical or ovoid but whose size, weight, bounciness, colour, etc. differ according to the game
12. An object that is the focus of many sports and games, in which it may be thrown, caught, kicked, bounced, rolled, chased, retrieved, hit with an instrument, spun, etc., usually roughly spherical or ovoid but whose size, weight, bounciness, colour, etc. differ according to the game
13. An object that is the focus of many sports and games, in which it may be thrown, caught, kicked, bounced, rolled, chased, retrieved, hit with an instrument, spun, etc., usually roughly spherical or ovoid but whose size, weight, bounciness, colour, etc. differ according to the game
14. An object that is the focus of many sports and games, in which it may be thrown, caught, kicked, bounced, rolled, chased, retrieved, hit with an instrument, spun, etc., usually roughly spherical or ovoid but whose size, weight, bounciness, colour, etc. differ according to the game
15. An object that is the focus of many sports and games, in which it may be thrown, caught, kicked, bounced, rolled, chased, retrieved, hit with an instrument, spun, etc., usually roughly spherical or ovoid but whose size, weight, bounciness, colour, etc. differ according to the game
16. An object that is the focus of many sports and games, in which it may be thrown, caught, kicked, bounced, rolled, chased, retrieved, hit with an instrument, spun, etc., usually roughly spherical or ovoid but whose size, weight, bounciness, colour, etc. differ according to the game
17. An object that is the focus of many sports and games, in which it may be thrown, caught, kicked, bounced, rolled, chased, retrieved, hit with an instrument, spun, etc., usually roughly spherical or ovoid but whose size, weight, bounciness, colour, etc. differ according to the game
18. An object that is the focus of many sports and games, in which it may be thrown, caught, kicked, bounced, rolled, chased, retrieved, hit with an instrument, spun, etc., usually roughly spherical or ovoid but whose size, weight, bounciness, colour, etc. differ according to the game
19. A testicle.
20. A testicle.
21. A testicle.
22. A leather-covered cushion, fastened to a handle called a ballstock; formerly used by printers for inking the form, then superseded by the roller.
23. A large pill, a form in which medicine was given to horses; a bolus.
24. One thousand US dollars.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-
Proto-Germanic *balluz
Old English *beall
Middle English bal
English ball
From Middle English bal, ball, balle, from an unattested Old English *beall, *bealla (“round object, ball”) or Old Norse bǫllr (“a ball”), both from Proto-Germanic *balluz, *ballô (“ball”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰol-n- (“ball, bubble”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to blow, inflate, swell”).
Cognate with Old Saxon ball, Dutch bal, Old High German bal, ballo (German Ball (“ball”); Ballen (“bale”)). Related forms in Romance are borrowings from Germanic. See also balloon, bale.

## Easily confused with
- **BL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ball-vs-bl)
- **bar** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ball-vs-bar)
- **bay** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ball-vs-bay)
- **ban** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ball-vs-ban)
- **bat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ball-vs-bat)
- **bam** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ball-vs-bam)
- **bel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ball-vs-bel)
- **BLM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ball-vs-blm)
- **Bas** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ball-vs-bas)
- **bao** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ball-vs-bao)
- **bbl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ball-vs-bbl)
- **bla** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ball-vs-bla)
- **bol** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ball-vs-bol)
- **baz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ball-vs-baz)
- **bap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ball-vs-bap)
- **BLS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ball-vs-bls)
- **BLE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ball-vs-ble)
- **bly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ball-vs-bly)
- **Bau** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ball-vs-bau)
- **bank** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ball-vs-bank)

## Common misspellings (3)
`abll`, `bball`, `blal`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/ball