nine ball
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of nine ball
First recorded in 1965–70
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.
One of the nine ball boys picked for 1966 World Cup final says the nation needs the joy of Sunday's final after 18 months of living with the pandemic.
From BBC • Jul. 10, 2021
Newman is Eddie Felson, the pool sharp he played 25 years earlier in The Hustler, and Cruise is Vincent Lauria, a comer in the art of nine ball.
From Time Magazine Archive
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Moans Dodger Coach Pete Reiser: "There were at least nine ball games we would have won if Davis could just have hit a long fly."
From Time Magazine Archive
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Life, these days, begins at 41, girls are Sweet 17 and never been kissed, and inescapably, the American consumer is behind the nine ball.
From Time Magazine Archive
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The nine ball plops into the side pocket, the cue ball hits one cushion and stops near the center spot.
From Time Magazine Archive
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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.