billiard ball

noun

1. one of the balls used in the game of billiards.

Word History and Origins

Origin of billiard ball¹

First recorded in 1630–40

Example Sentences

Nitze’s “billiard ball” paradigm sees only state actors as significant, and thus only zero-sum possibilities exist: Whatever one country gains, another loses.

From Salon

“The killing of the father in the first act determines the fate of all the characters. They are pushed like billiard balls and can only continue rolling passively.”

From New York Times

“Cartel members are not billiard balls or atoms locked into mechanistic reactions to external shocks,” they wrote.

From Los Angeles Times

Rhythms in leather and wood can sound beautifully like billiard balls caroming.

From New York Times

His would-be challengers have been sizing up political billiard balls for the possibility of an increasingly tricky bank shot: persuading Republican voters to forsake him, while presenting themselves as the movement’s heir apparent.

From New York Times