balls
Britishplural noun
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the testicles
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so as to be rendered powerless
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nonsense; rubbish
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courage; forcefulness
interjection
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Usage
Both its anatomical senses and its various extended senses nowadays have far less impact than they used to, and seem unlikely to cause offence, though some older or more conservative people may object. Interestingly, its use in the sense of courage is exactly paralleled in the Spanish term «cojones»
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
We know the Bees will sit in and try to hit them on the counter with balls in behind for Igor Thiago, but I don't think it will work.
From BBC
Number eight Corbin Bosch made a valiant 67 off 51 balls as South Africa fought until almost the end.
From Barron's
Despite the different colours, the pink and red balls used in Australia do not offer different amounts of swing and seam movement to pace bowlers.
From BBC
Sixteenth seed Si also potted 151 balls, with only 16 from Day, whose highest break of the afternoon was only 22.
From BBC
Picture eating perfectly fried chicken nuggets topped with a bump of caviar as tennis balls whizz from one side of the court to the other.
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.