ball ball [OE. bal, balle; akin to OHG. balla, palla, G. ball, Icel. böllr, ball; cf. F. balle. Cf. 1st Bale, noun, Pallmall.]

1. Any round or roundish body or mass; a sphere or globe; as, a ball of twine; a ball of snow.

2. A spherical body of any substance or size used to play with, as by throwing, knocking, kicking, etc.

3. A general name for games in which a ball is thrown, kicked, or knocked. See Baseball, and Football.

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.

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.

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cushion, fastened to a handle called a ballstock; – formerly used by printers for inking the form, but now superseded by the roller.

7. A roundish protuberant portion of some part of the body; as, the ball of the thumb; the ball of the foot.

8. (Far.) A large pill, a form in which medicine is commonly given to horses; a bolus. White.

9. The globe or earth. Pope.

Move round the dark terrestrial ball. Addison.

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