baseball

[ beys-bawl ]

noun

1. a game of ball between two nine-player teams played usually for nine innings on a field that has as a focal point a diamond-shaped infield with a home plate and three other bases, 90 feet (27 meters) apart, forming a circuit that must be completed by a base runner in order to score, the central offensive action entailing hitting of a pitched ball with a wooden or metal bat and running of the bases, the winner being the team scoring the most runs.
2. the ball used in this game, being a sphere approximately 3 inches (7 centimeters) in diameter with a twine-covered center of cork covered by stitched horsehide.
3. Cards. a variety of five-card or seven-card stud poker in which nines and threes are wild and in which threes and fours dealt face up gain the player either penalties or privileges.

baseball

/ ˈbeɪsˌbɔːl /

noun

1. a team game with nine players on each side, played on a field with four bases connected to form a diamond. The object is to score runs by batting the ball and running round the bases
2. the hard rawhide-covered ball used in this game

Other Words From

• pro·baseball adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of baseball¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; base ¹ + ball ¹

Example Sentences

Quantum spin is very different from the physical spin on a baseball.

From Science Daily

We were just doing what we were hired to do: Tell stories not about ice skates or about baseball bats but about human beings.”

From Los Angeles Times

So the Dodgers can strengthen baseball’s best lineup, deepen their historic batting order, tighten their versatile defense, become even more exciting, more enchanting, more unbeatable.

From Los Angeles Times

“We have horrible, disgusting, dangerous, filthy encampments of junkies and homeless people living in places that our children used to play Little League baseball, which they don’t get to play very much anymore, do they?”

From Los Angeles Times

Looks were styled with exaggerated hats, including an oversized leather newsboy cap with eyelets, and a white baseball cap transformed to sculptural effect with white feathers.

From Los Angeles Times