ping-pong ball
7
1.0
- noun
- /ˈpɪŋˌpɔŋ bɔl/
:
pelota de ping-pong
- The kids had a great time playing table tennis with a colorful ping-pong ball in the backyard.
That outward shove pushes the ping pong balls together inward.
- That outward shove pushes the ping pong balls together inward.
- And he'd have a, he'd have a ping pong ball attached to a shoelace in his cell.
- They were things again like umbrellas and ping pong balls.
- What's funny is it's a goat that's made out of yellow felt and foam rubber and ping pong ball eyes.
- She was just bouncing around like a ping pong ball and in the hallway.
- So here we have two ping pong balls and the ping mong paddle.
Examples
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A ping-pong ball fits perfectly inside most toilet paper or paper towel tubes.
Academic text (2007) -
David, in a nest of fat limbs, is trying to swallow his rattle, which is the size of a ping-pong ball.
Fiction book (1995) -
"These days, a ping-pong ball would do the trick."
Fiction book (2001) -
So we're definitely gonna want ping pong balls.
-
Why are there ping pong balls all over the floor?
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And then Bunny and I ran to the closet of the game room to get another ping-pong ball, and the closet was locked!
Blog text (6) -
There are two ping pong balls submerged in this honey.
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Put a ping pong ball or a walnut inside an empty tissue box.
Blog text (5) -
When introducing Braille or teaching new characters or contractions, I frequently use neon-colored ping pong balls and a minimuffin pan with a dark, nonstick surface.
Academic text (1996) -
During the tournament, each player received a new ping-pong ball to ensure fair play.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A round object used in games like football or tennis
How Big
11
1.0
- US
16
1.0
20
1.0
30
1.0
7
1.0
58
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
ping-pong + ball
The meaning 'a ball used in ping-pong/table tennis' is directly and compositionally derived from combining the game name 'ping-pong' with 'ball' (a round play object). This compound follows a straightforward noun-modifier pattern found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the correct referent.
Etymology
Ping-pong ball gets its name from the sound of the game: when the small, light ball hits the paddle and table it makes a quick ping and pong. That's why the name means the small, hollow ball used in 'table tennis'.