hardball

[ hahrd-bawl ]

noun
  1. baseball, as distinguished from softball.

adjective
  1. tough or ruthless: He wasn't ready for the hardball politics of Washington.

  2. outspoken, challenging, or difficult: Reporters asked the president some hardball questions.

Idioms about hardball

  1. play hardball, to act or work aggressively, competitively, or ruthlessly, as in business or politics.

Origin of hardball

1
First recorded in 1825–35; hard + ball1

Words Nearby hardball

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use hardball in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for hardball

hardball

/ (ˈhɑːdbɔːl) /


noun
  1. US and Canadian baseball as distinct from softball

  2. play hardball informal, mainly US and Canadian to act in a ruthless or uncompromising way

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012