ninepin ball
- noun
- UK
:
bola de boliche
- Unlike a bowling ball, a ninepin ball is often smaller and without finger holes.
Examples
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He gripped the ninepin ball tightly before taking his shot at the pins.
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The player rolled a ninepin ball down the lane.
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The old alley displayed several antique ninepin balls from the nineteenth century.
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Did you see the ninepin balls at the bowling alley?
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The player expertly rolled a ninepin ball to knock down all ten pins in one throw.
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In the antique shop, I found a beautifully crafted ninepin ball that was used in the old game.
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During the tournament, each competitor had to use a different colored ninepin ball for their turn.
Synonyms
22
1.8
A large heavy ball with three finger holes used to knock down pins
A ball rolled in the game of skittles to knock down pins
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun-noun compound combines 'ninepin' (the pin used in the game) with 'ball' (a round play object) to denote the ball used to knock down ninepins; the meaning is directly compositional. This straightforward, cross-linguistically common naming pattern (similar to 'bowling ball') makes the MWE immediately inferable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
The noun ninepin ball names the small ball used in the old game of ninepins. The word ninepin is about the nine wooden pins and the ball is the round object you roll 'to knock down pins', so the phrase simply means the ball used to knock them down.