Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Wiktionary
alt. 1 Any game played with a ball. 2 A specific contest or match between teams playing such a game. 3 A sport played in the Aztec and Mayan civilizations; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesoamerican%20ballgame. 4 (cx lang=en figurative) affair, issue, matter, subject, story, topic n. 1 Any game played with a ball. 2 A specific contest or match between teams playing such a game. 3 A sport played in the Aztec and Mayan civilizations; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesoamerican%20ballgame. 4 (cx lang=en figurative) affair, issue, matter, subject, story, topic
WordNet
n. a field game played with a ball (especially baseball) [syn: ballgame]
Wikipedia
Ball games (or ballgames), also ball sports, are any form of game or sport which feature a ball as part of play. These include games such as association football (soccer), baseball, basketball, and American football. Such games have diverse rules and histories and are of mostly unrelated origins. Ball games can be defined in several broad types:
- Bat-and-ball games, such as baseball and cricket.
- Racquet and ball games, such as tennis, squash and badminton.
- Hand and ball-striking games, such as various handball codes, rebound handball and four square.
- Goal sports, usually team sports such as basketball and all forms of football, lacrosse, and hockey (the derived sport of ice hockey, which uses a puck rather than a ball, is classified with the goal, team ball sports for some purposes).
- Non-racquet net sports, such as volleyball and sepak takraw.
- Precision sports or target sports, such as bowling, lawn bowls, croquet, and golf, as well as cue sports, including snooker, pool, and other forms of billiards.
Usage examples of "ball game".
He was sitting in front of the TV set, in his stockinged feet, watching the ball game with a can of beer in hand.
He was rarely seen in an excited or passionate mood, except at the rhythmic ball game, which he loved.
Tom said, calm as if he were meeting her Saturday at the ball game.
But I'd slunk into the ground while playing golf, a stationary-ball game in which one stands in place and moves only within a tight, confined area - the limits of one's swing.