round ball

Perfectly curved sphere

Round ball is a somewhat redundant phrase—balls are round by definition—but it serves specific purposes.

In basketball contexts, it distinguishes the sport from football: He grew up playing round ball in city parks.

Historically, round ball refers to the spherical ammunition used in muzzle-loading firearms, as opposed to conical bullets: The musket fired a .50 caliber round ball.

Related
  • spherePerfectly round solid
  • orbLuminous celestial body
  • bounceSpring back after impact
  • rubberElastic polymer from trees
  • throwPropel by arm motion

catch · bounce pass · kickball · kick around · rolling · curved · globe · circular · bouncy · inflated · toss · playground · sports · basketball · soccer · tennis · gym class · marble

Categories
Opposites
geometric shape

round ballcube

Six-squared-faced solid

block · box · rectangular prism · polyhedron · pyramid

Family

round, ball, rounds, rounded, rounding, rounder, roundest, roundly, roundness

Familiarity
Top 200,000
Profile
Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G