Ball (redirected from start the ball rolling)

Ball  (bôl), John Called "the Mad Priest." Died 1381.

English social agitator who was executed for his role in the Peasants' Revolt (1381).

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Ball, Lucille 1911-1989.

American actress best known as the star of the popular situation comedy I Love Lucy (1951-1957).

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ball ¹  (bôl)

n.

1.

a. A spherical object or entity: a steel ball.

b. A spherical or almost spherical body: a ball of flame.

2. Sports

a. Any of various rounded, movable objects used in various athletic activities and games.

b. Such an object moving, thrown, hit, or kicked in a particular manner: a low ball; a fair ball.

c. A game, especially baseball or basketball, played with such an object.

d. A pitched baseball that does not pass through the strike zone and is not swung at by the batter.

3.

a. A solid spherical or pointed projectile, such as one shot from a cannon.

b. Projectiles of this kind considered as a group.

4. A rounded part or protuberance, especially of the body: the ball of the foot.

5. balls Vulgar Slang

a. The testicles.

b. Courage, especially when reckless.

c. Great presumptuousness.

v. balled, ball·ing, balls

v.tr.

1. To form into a ball.

2. Vulgar Slang To have sexual intercourse with.

v.intr.

1. To become formed into a ball.

2. Vulgar Slang To have sexual intercourse.

Phrasal Verb:

ball up

To confuse; bungle.

Idiom:

on the ball Informal

1. Alert, competent, or efficient: a teacher who is really on the ball.

2. Relating to qualities, such as competence, skill, or knowledge, that are necessary for success: a manager who has a lot on the ball; a student who has nothing on the ball.

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[Middle English bal, probably from Old English *beall; see bhel-² in Indo-European roots.]

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ball ²  (bôl)

n.

1. A formal gathering for social dancing.

2. Informal An extremely enjoyable time or experience: We had a ball during our vacation.

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[French bal, from Old French, from baller, to dance, from Late Latin ballre, from Greek ballizein; see g^wel- in Indo-European roots.]

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ball ¹

Noun

1. a spherical or nearly spherical mass: a ball of wool

2. a round or roundish object used in various games

3. a single delivery of the ball in a game

4. any more or less rounded part of the body: the ball of the foot

5. have the ball at one's feet to have the chance of doing something

6. on the ball Informal alert; informed

7. play ball Informal to cooperate

8. set or keep the ball rolling to initiate or maintain the progress of an action, discussion, or project

Verb

to form into a ball

See also balls, balls-up [Old Norse böllr]

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ball ²

Noun

1. a lavish or formal social function for dancing

2. have a ball Informal to have a very enjoyable time [Late Latin ballare to dance]

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Ball a round or roundish body or mass. See also clew, globe, orb.

Examples: balls [‘rings’] of cowslips, daisies, 1648; of fire; of nutmegs, 1583; of rosemary [750 Ibs], 1796; of twine, 1841; of wool, 1884; of yarn, 1572; of live crabs, 1875.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	ball - 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" baseball - a ball used in playing baseball basketball - an inflated ball used in playing basketball billiard ball - ball used in playing billiards bocce ball, bocci ball, boccie ball - wooden ball that is bowled in the Italian game of bocce bowl - a wooden ball (with flattened sides so that it rolls on a curved course) used in the game of lawn bowling bowling ball, bowl - a large ball with finger holes used in the sport of bowling cricket ball - the ball used in playing cricket croquet ball - a wooden ball used in playing croquet field hockey ball - ball used in playing field hockey football - the inflated oblong ball used in playing American football game equipment - equipment or apparatus used in playing a game golf ball - a small hard ball used in playing golf; dimpled to reduce wind resistance handball - a small rubber ball used in playing the game of handball jack - a small ball at which players aim in lawn bowling lacrosse ball - ball used in playing lacrosse marble - a small ball of glass that is used in various games medicine ball - heavy ball used in physical training ninepin ball, skittle ball - ball used to knock down ninepins ping-pong ball - light hollow ball used in playing table tennis polo ball - wooden ball that is struck with mallets in playing polo pool ball - ball used in playing pool punch bag, punchball, punching ball, punching bag - an inflated ball or bag that is suspended and punched for training in boxing racquetball - the ball used in playing the game of racquetball roulette ball - the ball used to play roulette rugby ball - inflated oval ball used in playing rugby soccer ball - an inflated ball used in playing soccer playground ball, softball - ball used in playing softball squash ball - rubber ball used in playing squash tennis ball - ball about the size of a fist used in playing tennis volleyball - an inflated ball used in playing volleyball Wiffle, Wiffle Ball - (trademark) a hollow plastic ball with cutouts
	2.	ball - a solid projectile that is shot by a musket; "they had to carry a ramrod as well as powder and ball" musket ball pellet, shot - a solid missile discharged from a firearm; "the shot buzzed past his ear"
	3.	ball - an object with a spherical shape; "a ball of fire" globe, orb crystal ball - a glass or crystal globe used in crystal gazing by fortunetellers camphor ball, mothball - a small sphere of camphor or naphthalene used to keep moths away from stored clothing time-ball - a ball that slides down a staff to show a fixed time; especially at an observatory fireball - the luminous center of a nuclear explosion fireball - a ball of fire (such as the sun or a ball-shaped discharge of lightning) globule - a small globe or ball sphere - a solid figure bounded by a spherical surface (including the space it encloses) spherule - a small sphere pellet - a small sphere bolus - a small round soft mass (as of chewed food)
	4.	ball - the people assembled at a lavish formal dance; "the ball was already emptying out before the fire alarm sounded" promenade - a march of all the guests at the opening of a formal dance dance - a party of people assembled for dancing
	5.	ball - one of the two male reproductive glands that produce spermatozoa and secrete androgens; "she kicked him in the balls and got away" ballock, bollock, testicle, testis, orchis, egg, nut arteria testicularis, internal spermatic artery, testicular artery - a branch of the aorta supplying the testicles testicular vein, vena testicularis - a vein from the testicles male reproductive system - the reproductive system of males family jewels, male genital organ, male genitalia, male genitals - external male sex organs seminiferous tubule - any of the numerous long convoluted tubules in the testis which are the sites where spermatozoa mature gonad, sex gland - a gland in which gametes (sex cells) are produced cobblers - a man's testicles (from Cockney rhyming slang: cobbler's awl rhymes with ball) male reproductive gland - the reproductive organs of a man undescended testicle, undescended testis - a testis that fails to move into the scrotum as the male fetus develops; "undescended testicles have an increased risk for cancer" epididymis - a convoluted tubule in each testis; carries sperm to vas deferens rete testis - network of tubules carrying sperm from the seminiferous tubules to the vasa efferentia ductus deferens, vas deferens - a duct that carries spermatozoa from the epididymis to the ejaculatory duct spermatic cord - a structure resembling a cord that suspends the testis within the scrotum and contains the vas deferens and other vessels and nerves
	6.	ball - a spherical object used as a plaything; "he played with his rubber ball in the bathtub" beach ball, beachball - large and light ball; for play at the seaside plaything, toy - an artifact designed to be played with snowball - snow pressed into a ball for throwing (playfully)
	7.	Ball - United States comedienne best known as the star of a popular television program (1911-1989) Lucille Ball
	8.	ball - a compact mass; "a ball of mud caught him on the shoulder" chunk, clod, glob, lump, clump clot, coagulum - a lump of material formed from the content of a liquid agglomeration - a jumbled collection or mass gob - a lump of slimy stuff; "a gob of phlegm" clew - a ball of yarn or cord or thread
	9.	ball - a lavish dance requiring formal attire formal dance - a party for social dancing cotilion, cotillion - a ball at which young ladies are presented to society fancy-dress ball, masked ball, masquerade ball - a ball at which guests wear costumes and masks prom, promenade - a formal ball held for a school class toward the end of the academic year
	10.	ball - a more or less rounded anatomical body or mass; "the ball at the base of the thumb"; "he stood on the balls of his feet" anatomical structure, bodily structure, body structure, complex body part, structure - a particular complex anatomical part of a living thing; "he has good bone structure" hand, manus, mitt, paw - the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb; "he had the hands of a surgeon"; "he extended his mitt" sole - the underside of the foot
	11.	ball - the game of baseball                 daisy cutter - a batted or served ball that skims along close to the ground baseball, baseball game - a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs; "he played baseball in high school"; "there was a baseball game on every empty lot"; "there was a desire for National League ball in the area"; "play ball!"
	12.	ball - a pitch that is not in the strike zone; "he threw nine straight balls before the manager yanked him" pitch, delivery - (baseball) the act of throwing a baseball by a pitcher to a batter
Verb	1.	ball - form into a ball by winding or rolling; "ball wool" twine, wrap, wind, roll - arrange or or coil around; "roll your hair around your finger"; "Twine the thread around the spool"; "She wrapped her arms around the child"

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ball

noun 1. sphere, drop, globe, pellet, orb, globule, spheroid

noun 2. projectile, shot, missile, bullet, ammunition, slug, pellet, grapeshot

Translations

ball [bɔːl] n (= sphere) → bola (= football); balón m;

(for tennis, golf etc) → pelota (= dance); baile m;

to be on the ball (fig) (= competent); ser un enterado: (= alert); estar al tanto;

to play ball (with sb) → jugar a la pelota (con algn);

(fig) → cooperar;

to start the ball rolling (fig) → empezar;

the ball is in your court (fig) → le toca a usted

ball [bɔːl] n → boule f (= football); ballon m;

(for tennis, golf) → balle f (= dance); bal m;

to play ball → jouer au ballon (or à la balle) (fig); coopérer;

to be on the ball (fig) (= competent); être à la hauteur: (= alert); être éveillé(e) → être vif(vive);

to start the ball rolling (fig) → commencer;

the ball is in their court (fig) → la balle est dans leur camp

ball [bɔːl] n → Ball m;

(of wool, string) → Knäuel m or nt;

to set the ball rolling (fig) → den Stein ins Rollen bringen;

to play ball (with sb) (fig) → (mit jdm) mitspielen;

to be on the ball (fig) (competent) → am Ball sein: (alert) → auf Draht or Zack sein;

the ball is in their court (fig) → sie sind am Ball

ball [bɔːl] n → palla (= football); pallone m;

(for golf) → pallina (= dance); ballo;

to play ball (with sb) → giocare a palla (con qn);

(fig) → stare al gioco (di qn);

to be on the ball (fig) (= competent); essere in gamba: (= alert); stare all'erta;

to start the ball rolling (fig) → fare la prima mossa;

the ball is in your court (fig) → a lei la prossima mossa see also balls

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ball¹

n ball [boːl]

1 anything roughly round in shape a ball of wool. bal كُرَه кълбо koule, klubko bold; kugle das Knäul,die Kugel κτ. που έχει σφαιρικό σχήμα, μπάλα bola; esfera; ovillo pall, kera هر چیز گرد pallo, kerä boule, pelote כָּדוּר गेंद, गोला bala gombolyag bulatan bolti, kúla palla 球 공 모양의 것 kamuolys lode; kamols bebola bal, bol ball, kule kula bola ghem клубок; шар klbko krogla, klobčič klupko boll สิ่งที่เป็นรูปทรงกลม top, yumak 球狀物 куля گیند ،کُرہ cuộn 球状物

2 a round object used in games a tennis ball. bal كُرة القَدَمأو السَّلّه топка míč bold der Ball μπάλα (που χρησιμοποιείται στα παιχνίδια) pelota, balón pall توپ pallo balle, ballon כָּדוּר गेंद lopta labda bola bolti palla, pallone ボール 공, 볼 sviedinys, sviedinukas bumba bola tenis bal ball piłka bola minge, balon мяч lopta žoga lopta boll ลูกบอล top 球 м'яч کھیلنے والی گیند quả bóng 球

3  balls (plural) (slang) testicles. balle, balletjies الخِصيتان، بيضتا الرَّجُل тестиси koule (varlata) nosser; testikler die Eier όρχεις (λαϊκ.) pelota, huevo, cojón munandid, munad خایه ها couilles אָשָכִים वृषण testisi buah pelir coglione, palla 睾丸 kiaušiai pauti testikal ballen baller, testikler jaja яйца gule (časť mužského pohlavného orgánu) jajca testisi ballar, testiklar ลูกอัณฑะ taşak, husye 睾丸 яйця فوتے ، خُصیے tinh hoàn 睾丸

n pl ˌball-ˈbearings

in machinery etc, small steel balls that help the revolving of one part over another. koeëllaers مُحَمِّل الكُريات сачмен лагер kuličkové ložisko kugle das Kugellager ρουλεμάν cojinete, apoyo de bolas kuullaager بلبرینگ kuulalaakeri roulement à billes מֵסַב כָּדוִּרי kuglični ležajevi golyóscsapágy bantalan peluru kúlulegur cuscinetto a sfere ボールベアリング rutulinis guolis lodīšu gultnis kogellagers kulelager łożyska kulkowe esfera rulment (cu bile) шарикоподшипники guľôčkové ložisko kroglični ležaj kuglični ležajevi kullager ตลับลูกปืน bilyeli yataklar, rulmanlar 滾珠軸承 шарикопідшипники بال بئیرنگ ổ bi; bạc đạn 滚珠轴承

n ˈballcock

a valve in a cistern. balvlotterklep صُنْبور أوتوماتيكي مُتَّصِل بِعَوّامه كُرويّهية клапа kohoutek s kulovým plovákem kugleventil das Schwimmventil βαλβίδα ντεπόζιτου llave de bola, llave de flotador kuulkraan شناور kuulauimurihana robinet à flotteur מָצוֹף गोला-टोंटी automatski pipac s kuglicom golyósszelep klep vatnsventill með flotholti galleggiante 浮玉弁 볼 콕 plūduras pludiņš injap bebola balkraan flottørkran, kuleventil zawór spustowy bóia flotor шаровой клапан kohútik s guľovým plavákom pipa s plavačem ventil cisterne flottörventil อุปกรณ์ควบคุมระดับน้ำในถังหลังโถชักโครก bilyeli valf 浮球閥 наповнювальний клапан بال کاک phao điều chỉnh mực nước trong bể 浮球阀

n ˈballpoint

a pen having a tiny ball as the writing point. balpuntpen قَلَم حِبْر جاف топче на върха на химикал kuličkové pero kuglepen der Kugelschreiber στιλό διαρκείας esferográfica pastapliiats قلم kuulakärkikynä stylo bille עֵט כָּדוּרִי गोल नोक वाली कलम kemijska olovka golyó bolpen kúlupenni penna a sfera ボールペン 볼펜 šratinukas lodīšu pildspalva pen bermata bebola balpen kulepenn długopis esferográfica stilou (cu bilă) шариковая ручка guľôčkové pero kemični svinčnik hemijska olovka kul[]penna ปากกาลูกลื่น tükenmez kalem 圓珠筆 кулькова ручка بال پوائنٹ bút bi 圆珠笔

adj

a ballpoint pen. balpuntagtig قَلَم حِبْر جاف химикал kuličkový kugle- Kugelschreiber-... που διαθέτει σφαιρική γραφίδα esferográfico kuul- خودکار kuulakärki- à bille כָּדוּרי बॉल पेन kemijski golyóstoll bolpen kúlu- a sfera ボールペンの 볼펜 šratinis lodīšu pildspalva sejenis pen bal- kule- kulkowy esferográfica cu bilă шариковый guličkový kemični (za pisalo) sa kuglicom na vrhu kulspets- (ปากกา) ลูกลื่น 圓珠筆形的 кульковий بال پوائنٹ قلم đầu bi 圆珠笔形的

on the ball

quick, alert and up-to-date The new manager is really on the ball. op en wakker, aan die brand, wakker يَقِظ، مُنْتَبِه، واعٍ бърз na výši på mærkerne; hurtig i vendingen; kvik auf Draht γρήγορος, ενημερωμένος, σε ετοιμότητα al tanto estar, estar alerta tasemel هشیار و کاردان بودن tehokas, ajan tasalla à la hauteur לִהְיוֹת בָּעִנייָנִים सावधान, किसी स्थिति से पूर्ण सम्पर्क रखना pripravan gyors siap siaga klár, með á nótunum aggiornato 有能である 빈틈없는 kupinas naujų idėjų manīgs; veikls peka bijdehand rask i vendingen/avtrekket; med på leken bystry, zorientowany alerta prompt, pe fază толковый na úrovni na nivoju u toku på alerten ตื่นตัว; กระตือรือร้น uyanık, olup bitenden haberdar 警惕 спритний چاق و چوبند، ہوشیار nhanh nhẹn 警惕

start/set, *keep the ball rolling

to start or keep something going, especially a conversation He can be relied on to start the ball rolling at parties. die bal aan die rol sit يَجْعَلُ الشَّيئ مُستَمِرّا поддържам snažit se, aby řeč nestála, rozproudit få gang i ting; holde gående etwas in Gang setzen ξεκινώ μια διαδικασία ή/και κρατάω αμείωτο το ρυθμό της poner en marcha, emprender; mantener en marcha vestlust alustama, vestlust ülal hoidma شروع به کاری کردن؛ ادامه دادن käynnistää, ylläpitää keskustelua lancer, soutenir la conversation לְהַתְחִיל לְגַלגֵל אֶת הַעֶסֶק pokrenuti társalgást elindít memulai halda hlutunum gangandi, brjóta ísinn tenere viva la conversazione うまく続けていく 일을 잘 시작하다, 이야기를 잘 이끌어 나가다 pradėti/palaikyti pokalbį turpināt kaut ko iesāktu; neļaut apsīkt (sarunai) memulakan aan de gang brengen sette i gang, holde gående zacząć, podtrzymywać (rozmowę) movimentar a întreţine (o conversaţie) поддерживать разговор rozbehnúť, rozprúdiť začeti pogovor pokrenuti sätta (hålla) i gång เริ่มการสนทนา başlamak, açmak 開始活動（指談話）；不使活動〔談話〕中斷 почати, підтримати якусь справу جاری رکھنا giữ cho câu chuyện hoặc công việc không bị gián đoạn 开始活动（指谈话）；不使活动〔谈话〕中断