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

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

3. (n.) A general name for games in which a ball is thrown, kicked, or knocked. See Football.

4. (n.) 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.

5. (n.) 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.

6. (n.) 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cushion, fastened to a handle called a ballstock; -- formerly used by printers for inking the form, but now superseded by the roller.

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

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

9. (n.) The globe or earth.

10. (v. i.) 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.

11. (v. t.) To heat in a furnace and form into balls for rolling.

12. (v. t.) To form or wind into a ball; as, to ball cotton.

13. (n.) A social assembly for the purpose of dancing.

Kaffeeklatsch action agate assemblee assembly assignation at home bal bal costume bal masque ball bearing balloon bar shot barn dance baseball baseball bat basketball bat battledore bauble be intimate bead big time bird shot bladder blob blocks blowout boll bolus bowl brawl bubble buckshot bulb bulbil bulblet bullet cannon shot cannonball case shot caucus checkerboard chessboard clew clot club cockhorse cocktail party coffee klatch cohabit colloquium come together commission commit adultery committee conclave concourse conglobulate congregation congress conventicle convention convocation copulate costume party council country dance couple cover cricket bat crossbar shot cue dance date diddle diet dinner dinner party discus doll doll carriage donation party duck shot dumdum bullet egg eisteddfod ejecta ejectamenta ellipsoid ensphere entertainment expanding bullet fancy-dress ball festivity fete football forgathering fornicate forum frig fun fun and games funmaking game garden party gathering geoid get-together gewgaw gimcrack globe globelet globoid globule glomerulus gob gobbet golf club good time grape grapeshot great fun handball have sex have sexual relations hen party high old time high time hobbyhorse hop house party house-raising housewarming jack-in-the-box jacks jackstones jackstraws kickshaw knickknack knob knot langrel shot laughs lawn party lay levee lie with lovely time make it with make love make out manstopping bullet marble marionette mask masked ball masque masquerade masquerade ball masquerade party mate meet meeting mig missile mixer mothball mount mushroom oblate spheroid orb orbit orblet oval ovoid panel paper doll party pellet pick-up sticks picnic pill pinball pinwheel play plaything pleasant time plenum projectile prolate spheroid prom promenade puppet pushball quoit quorum racket rag doll rally reception record hop rendezvous rifle ball rocking horse rondure round round shot rubber ball screw seance serve service session shell shindig shindy shot shower shrapnel sit-in sitting sleep with slug smoker snowball softball soiree sphere spherify spheroid spherule split shot sport square dance stag stag dance stag party steelie surprise party symposium synod taw tea dance teetotum tetherball the dansant top toy toy soldier trajectile trinket turnout volleyball