balled 1 of 2

balled

2 of 2

verb

past tense of ball
as in rolled
to form into a round compact mass balled up the paper and threw it at the garbage can

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of balled
Verb
Instead of being grateful, Quiggle balled his fist, continued to yell and fought with the deputy before being arrested, Linhardt said. David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 31 July 2026 The rayon-spandex knit is soft, stretchy, and virtually wrinkle-proof, so it can be balled into the corner of a tote bag as a backup outfit and still look fine at dinner. Robin Raven, Travel + Leisure, 15 July 2026 Then there’s Cofie, who balled his way into a draft combine invite this spring, and Rice, whose name will be known in draft circles soon enough. Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2026 Newly installed balled and burlapped plants need about 1 inch of water per week — be sure the root ball is getting watered. Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 28 June 2026 The explosion had balled me up, shoved me aside, and pelted me with hot stones. Will MacKin, New Yorker, 28 June 2026 Lord described Walter Bedford as the night baker who cannon-balled into the ocean in chapter 6. Veronica Hinke, Baltimore Sun, 14 June 2026 Jokic came off a pin-down from Braun to catch on the right wing — again making Gobert chase him around a screen — but air-balled the 3-pointer. Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 23 Apr. 2026 Bare root trees and shrubs, as the name suggests, are not sold in a pot or balled and burlapped. Dr. Lauren Kurtz, Hartford Courant, 21 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for balled
Adjective
  • Physicists now know that a collision between two oxygen nuclei generates a more rounded particle pattern, while crashing neon nuclei together creates a pattern more reminiscent of a bowling pin.
    Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Admittedly, his rounded route in his final act last season for Chicago deserves all the rotten cabbage.
    Jess Bryant, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Brigance recorded the first tackle in Super Bowl XXXV as the Ravens rolled to a 34-7 victory over the New York Giants.
    Adam Thompson, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Benesh and Crabb added to their lead to 13-8 with back-to-back blocks and rolled to a 21-14 win.
    Jordan Puente, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • The buds are fairly typical, with a bulbous driver housing and an extended stem that sits outside the ear.
    Mark Knapp, PC Magazine, 7 Aug. 2026
  • The bulbous growths on the ends of the mycelia burst, releasing even more spores into the air to infect even more unsuspecting ants.
    Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 6 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Growing up in rural Malawi, the Chawingas played with the boys in village pick up matches, using balls improvised from wadded up paper and plastic.
    Ryan Lenora Brown, Christian Science Monitor, 6 Aug. 2026
  • The Socks Are Inside Other Clothes Did the sock actually enter another space-time continuum—or did it get wadded up in someone's pant leg?
    Katie Cloyd, Martha Stewart, 5 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • Some dots resemble pairs of eyes; others appear as overlapping roundish figures.
    Shanti Escalante-De Mattei, ARTnews.com, 27 Apr. 2026
  • Bieber’s stage was large, roundish, and mostly bare, with a hilly ridge around the edges.
    Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Sound waves cause air inside the spherical or bell-shaped structures to oscillate, pulling in diffuse airflow and expelling it as a concentrated, high-velocity jet.
    Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Beyond immersive spherical video, it’s engineered to function as a point-and-shoot camera for flat social clips, or a traditional single-lens action cam when instant sharing makes more sense.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 13 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • The pieces are abstract but appear to show featureless human figures sitting atop globular, cloud-like shapes that float in the air.
    Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, 7 June 2026
  • This cultivar, 'Little Gem', grows with scale-like leaves in dense, flat sprays presented in a globular shape.
    Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 25 May 2026
Adjective
  • The comedy of Gilligan’s Island often centered on the interactions between the scrawny, clueless Gilligan and the rotund, impatient skipper.
    Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Natalia, again fearing a trap, hesitated to disembark—until the dawn light revealed the smiling face of the rotund Diego Rivera, flanked by Mexican Trotskyists and government officials.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 July 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Balled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/balled. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

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