ball 1 S1 W2 / bɔl $ bɒl / 名词

1 round object [可数名词] a round object that is thrown, kicked, or hit in a game or sport

throw/hit/kick/catch etc a ball

Weiskopf hit the ball 330 yards and a cheer went up.

a tennis/golf/cricket etc ball

2 round shape [可数名词] something formed or rolled into a round shape :

a ball of string

Shape the dough into balls.

3 game/sport [不可数名词] any game or sport played with a ball, especially baseball or basketball :

D’you want to go out and play ball ?

Dad likes college ball.

4 foot/hand the ball of the foot/hand the rounded part of the foot at the base of the toes, or the rounded part of the hand at the base of the thumb

5 on the ball informal able to think or act quickly and intelligently :

an assistant who’s really on the ball

6 set/start/keep the ball rolling to start something happening :

To start the ball rolling, the government was asked to contribute £1 million.

7 the ball is in sb’s court it is their turn to take action or to reply :

I’ve emailed him – now the ball’s in his court.

8 formal occasion [可数名词] a large formal occasion at which people dance

9 have a ball informal to have a very good time

10 balls [复数形式] informal not polite

a) testicle s

b) courage :

I didn’t have the balls to ask.

c) British English spoken something that is stupid or wrong 同义词 nonsense :

That’s a load of balls! → balls 1

11 a fast/good/long etc ball a ball that is thrown, hit, or kicked fast etc in a game or sport :

He hit a long ball to right field.

12 cricket no ball a ball that is thrown too high, low etc towards someone trying to hit it, in the game of cricket or rounders

13 baseball no ball [可数名词] a ball that the hitter does not try to hit, because it is not within the correct area

14 the whole ball of wax American English informal the whole thing 同义词 everything

15 a ball of fire informal someone who has a lot of energy and enthusiasm

16 keep several/too many etc balls in the air to struggle to deal with more than one problem or job at the same time :

The company just won’t be able to keep that many balls in the air.

17 drop the ball ( also take your eye off the ball ) to make a mistake when dealing with something because you stop thinking carefully or paying attention

18 ball-buster/ball-breaker informal

a) a problem that is very difficult to deal with

b) an offensive word for a woman who uses her authority over men

→ cannonball , crystal ball , wrecking ball , → play ball at play 1 ( 7 )

COLLOCATIONS

动词

throw a ball Suzy threw the ball to Matthew.

catch a ball He’s useless at sport; he can’t even catch a ball.

hit a ball He swung the bat back and hit the ball hard.

kick a ball Greg kicked the ball upfield to Will.

bounce a ball He was in the yard bouncing a ball against the wall.

get the ball Then the Cowboys got the ball again.

miss a ball (= not catch or hit it ) I was trying hard but I kept missing the ball.

a ball rolls The ball just rolled past the hole.

a ball flies/sails The ball flew over the goalkeeper’s head and into the net.

a ball bounces In tennis, the ball must only bounce once.

a ball rebounds (= hits something and moves back and away from it again ) The ball hit the goalpost and rebounded.

ADJECTIVES/NOUN + ball

a tennis/cricket/golf/rugby etc ball She was practising hitting golf balls.

a ping-pong/billiard/snooker etc ball He was bouncing around like a ping-pong ball.

a beach ball (= a large light ball used on the beach ) Dad, will you blow up the beach ball?

ball + NOUN

a ball game He’s always watching ball games on TV.

ball skills Practising ball skills helps a child’s coordination.