playground ball
- noun
- US
:
pelota de recreo
- Similarly, a child with significant mental retardation might work on shooting a Nerf basketball into a 6' basket during a game of "HORSE" with peers who shoot at an 8' or 10' basket from 5, 7, 9, or 11 feet away using a Nerf basketball, rubber playground ball, or junior-size basketball.
- rubber playground ball
- playground ball (5 inches)
Examples
-
We bought a large playground ball to use for our games of dodgeball at the park.
-
The students played kickball with a brightly colored playground ball during recess.
-
I don't have a lot of playground balls.
Academic text (2014) -
They're going to do better at throwing games with those rather than using the playground balls.
Academic text (2012) -
The subjects selected one of four standard playground balls (5 inches, 7 inches, 8.5 inches, and 10 inches in diameter) and attempted to dribble the ball 10 consecutive times.
Academic text (1990) -
The kicking test required the children to kick an 8-inch rubber playground ball, teed up on a beanbag, into a 10-foot (height) by 20-foot (length) target placed 30 feet away on a wall.
Academic text (1996) -
Children enjoyed tossing the playground ball back and forth while waiting for their turns in four square.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A round object used in games like football or tennis
1
2.0
A soft, light ball thrown by players to try to hit others
1
2.0
A large rubber ball children kick in playground games
How Big
3
3.1
- US
16
1.0
- US
20
1.0
7
1.0
58
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a large rubber ball used for playground games' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'playground' (children's outdoor play area) with 'ball' (a round play object); a learner who knows both constituents can infer it refers to a ball used on the playground. This noun+noun composition is a regular, cross-linguistically common pattern in English, so the MWE should be immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.
Etymology
The name playground ball comes from the simple image of a big, bouncy ball used on a school playground for games like four square or kickball. So, the name means 'a large rubber ball designed for use in playground games'.