Ball vs. Bawl — What's the Difference?

A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but can sometimes be ovoid) with various uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players.

Shout or call out noisily and unrestrainedly

A solid or hollow spherical or egg-shaped object that is kicked, thrown, or hit in a game

Weep or cry noisily

(in cricket) a delivery of the ball by the bowler to the batsman

A loud, unrestrained shout

The rounded protuberant part of the foot at the base of the big toe.

To cry or sob loudly; wail.

A formal social gathering for dancing

To cry out loudly and vehemently; shout.

Squeeze or form (something) into a rounded shape

To utter in a loud, vehement voice.

Have sexual intercourse with.

A loud, bellowing cry; a wail.

(of a flower) fail to open properly, decaying in the half-open bud.

(transitive) To shout or utter in a loud and intense manner.

A spherical object or entity

(intransitive) To wail; to give out a blaring cry.

A spherical or almost spherical body

(intransitive) To weep profusely.

Any of various movable and round or oblong objects used in various athletic activities and games.

A loud, intense shouting or wailing.

Such an object moving, thrown, hit, or kicked in a particular manner

To cry out with a loud, full sound; to cry with vehemence, as in calling or exultation; to shout; to vociferate.

A game, especially baseball or basketball, played with such an object.

To cry loudly, as a child from pain or vexation.

A pitched baseball that does not pass through the strike zone and is not swung at by the batter.

To proclaim with a loud voice, or by outcry, as a hawker or town-crier does.

A solid spherical or pointed projectile, such as one shot from a cannon.

A loud, prolonged cry; an outcry.

Projectiles of this kind considered as a group.

Shout loudly and without restraint

A rounded part or protuberance, especially of the body

Make a raucous noise

A testicle.

Cry loudly;

Balls Courage, especially when reckless.

Balls Great presumptuousness.

A formal gathering for social dancing.

(Informal) An extremely enjoyable time or experience

To form into a ball.

Vulgar Slang To have sexual intercourse with.

To become formed into a ball.

Vulgar Slang To have sexual intercourse.

A solid or hollow sphere, or roughly spherical mass.

A quantity of string, thread, etc., wound into a spherical shape.

(mathematics) Homologue or analogue of a disk in the Euclidean plane.

(mathematics) In 3-dimensional Euclidean space, the volume bounded by a sphere.

(mathematics) The set of points in a metric space of any number of dimensions lying within a given distance (the radius) of a given point.

(mathematics) The set of points in a topological space lying within some open set containing a given point.

A solid, spherical nonexplosive missile for a cannon, rifle, gun, etc.

A jacketed non-expanding bullet, typically of military origin.

Such bullets collectively.

A roundish, protuberant portion of some part of the body.

(anatomy) The front of the bottom of the foot, just behind the toes.

The globe; the earthly sphere.

An object that is the focus of many sports and games, in which it may be thrown, caught, kicked, bounced, rolled, chased, retrieved, hit with an instrument, spun, etc., usually roughly spherical but whose size, weight, bounciness, colour, etc. differ according to the game

Any sport or game involving a ball; its play, literally or figuratively.

A pitch that falls outside of the strike zone.

An opportunity to launch the pinball into play.

A single delivery by the bowler, six of which make up an over.

A pass; a kick of the football towards a teammate.

A testicle.

(in the plural) Nonsense.

(in the plural) Courage.

A leather-covered cushion, fastened to a handle called a ballstock; formerly used by printers for inking the form, then superseded by the roller.

A large pill, a form in which medicine was given to horses; a bolus.

 One thousand US dollars.

A formal dance.

(informal) A very enjoyable time.

A competitive event among young African-American and Latin American LGBTQ+ people in which prizes are awarded for drag and similar performances. See ball culture.

(transitive) To form or wind into a ball.

(metalworking) To heat in a furnace and form into balls for rolling.

To have sexual intercourse with.

(ambitransitive) To gather balls which cling to the feet, as of damp snow or clay; to gather into balls.

To be hip or cool.

(university slang) To reject from a fraternity or sorority. (blackball)

To play basketball.

(transitive) To punish by affixing a ball and chain.

(Australian rules football) An appeal by the crowd for holding the ball against a tackled player. This is heard almost any time an opposition player is tackled, without regard to whether the rules about "prior opportunity" to dispose of the ball are fulfilled.

Any round or roundish body or mass; a sphere or globe; as, a ball of twine; a ball of snow.

A spherical body of any substance or size used to play with, as by throwing, knocking, kicking, etc.

A general name for games in which a ball is thrown, kicked, or knocked. See Baseball, and Football.

Any solid spherical, cylindrical, or conical projectile of lead or iron, to be discharged from a firearm; as, a cannon ball; a rifle ball; - often used collectively; as, powder and ball. Spherical balls for the smaller firearms are commonly called bullets.

A flaming, roundish body shot into the air; a case filled with combustibles intended to burst and give light or set fire, or to produce smoke or stench; as, a fire ball; a stink ball.

A leather-covered cushion, fastened to a handle called a ballstock; - formerly used by printers for inking the form, but now superseded by the roller.

A roundish protuberant portion of some part of the body; as, the ball of the thumb; the ball of the foot.

A large pill, a form in which medicine is commonly given to horses; a bolus.

The globe or earth.

A pitched ball, not struck at by the batter, which fails to pass over the home plate at a height not greater than the batter's shoulder nor less than his knee (i.e. it is outside the strike zone). If the pitcher pitches four balls before three strikes are called, the batter advances to first base, and the action of pitching four balls is called a walk.

A testicle; usually used in the plural.

Courage; nerve.

A social assembly for the purpose of dancing; - usually applied to an occasion lavish or formal.

A very enjoyable time; as, we had a ball at the wedding.

To gather balls which cling to the feet, as of damp snow or clay; to gather into balls; as, the horse balls; the snow balls.

To heat in a furnace and form into balls for rolling.

To form or wind into a ball; as, to ball cotton.

Round object that is hit or thrown or kicked in games;

A solid ball shot by a musket;

An object with a spherical shape;

The people assembled at a lavish formal dance;

One of the two male reproductive glands that produce spermatozoa and secrete androgens;

A spherical object used as a plaything;

United States comedienne best known as the star of a popular television program (1911-1989)

A compact mass;

A lavish formal dance

A more or less rounded anatomical body or mass; ball of the human foot or ball at the base of the thumb;

A ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of 9 players; teams take turns at bat trying to score run;

A pitch that is not in the strike zone;

Form into a ball by winding or rolling;