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softball

softball

79 1.1
A game like baseball played on a smaller field with a larger ball
  • noun
  • /ˈsɔftˌbɔl/
translation icon : softbol
  • The championship for the girls' softball league will be held next Saturday.
  • play softball
  • a softball game
  • softball player

from playing division two softball. Is she tomboy as well?

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Examples

  • He played softball in middle school.

  • And the scoring in the softball game mostly resulted from infield errors.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • But it's like there is no job for you really as a professional female softball player.

  • It's like a company softball team.

  • See ya at softball Sunday.

  • By that time, most of the baseball and softball competition was completed for the year.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Like the camp meeting, the softball tournament always takes place in August.

    Academic text (1994)
  • We are in the 9th inning of a friendly softball game between the local cops.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • And in the US, she was an All American Division One softball player at Villanova.

  • She was a cheerleader, first violin in the school orchestra, and captain of the girls' softball team.

Synonyms

softball game
vssoftball
16 2.0

A team game like baseball played on a smaller field with a bigger, softer ball

is the shorter single word form for the sport

Antonyms

9 4.7

A version of baseball played with a hard ball rather than softball

Compounds

16 2.0

A team game like baseball played on a smaller field with a bigger, softer ball

How Fast

baseball
836 1.0
softball
79 1.1

Surface Forms

softball singular
softballs plural

Morphology

softball = soft + ball (semi-transparent) = soft + ball

The components are clear ('soft' + 'ball'), but the sense refers to the sport by metonymic extension from the ball, so the meaning is not a direct compositional interpretation.

Etymology

Softball for the game is named after the ball players use: the larger, 'softer' ball, and because it is played on a smaller field the sport feels gentler and easier than baseball, which is why the name fits the whole game.