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paintball

paintball

24 3.7
A game in which players shoot small paint-filled balls to hit and mark other players
  • noun
  • /ˈpeɪntbɔl/
translation icon : paintball
  • During the paintball match, players ducked behind obstacles to avoid being hit.
  • paintball gun
  • play paintball
  • paintball game

But seriously, paintball must be the only sport where you spend more time hiding than actually playing.

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Examples

  • We're going to play paintball.

  • But seriously, paintball must be the only sport where you spend more time hiding than actually playing.

  • When people follow the rules, paintball is a great, safe way to pass your time.

    Blog text (7)
  • In every variety of paintball, just head to the middle and the action will find you.

    Blog text (9)
  • I agree with you that paintball is here to stay.

    Blog text (7)
  • His favorite was paintball, which is kind of like laser tag.

  • Actually, let me make a caveat: paintball is a very safe sport if you wear your mask.

    Blog text (7)
  • The two of them creep through the paintball course, stealthy and full of the desire to best the other.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • While most paintball fields are outdoors, we've just opened up a new indoor "field" in Houston.

    Blog text (7)
  • They got rope courses, zip lines, pedal cars, paintball, swimming.

Synonyms

airsoft
vspaintball
1 4.2

A sport where people shoot small plastic pellets at each other using replica guns

uses coloured capsules that burst and leave visible marks on opponents

Compounds

A gun that shoots small paint-filled balls used in a game where players mark each other

How Realistic

airsoft
1 4.2
paintball
24 3.7
slag tag
  • Baby Talk
9.5

Surface Forms

paintball singular
paintballs plural

Morphology

paintball = paint + ball (transparent) = paint + ball

The game is named after the projectile used ('paintball'), so the compound's meaning is directly inferable from its parts.

Etymology

The word paintball for the game comes from the small, paint-filled balls that players shoot at each other. That's why the sport is literally named paint + ball — you play by marking people with colour.