ball game

Definitions

1. Any game played with a ball.
2. A specific contest or match between teams playing such a game, in particular a baseball game.
3. A sport played in the Aztec and Mayan civilizations; Mesoamerican ballgame.
   historical
4. Affair, issue, matter, subject, story, topic.
   figuratively
5. A decisive outcome in regard to some ongoing situation; game over.
   figuratively, slang

Equivalents

Examples

“Basketball, cricket, and football are three kinds of ball game.”

“George and Harriet went to the stadium to see⟳ the ball game.”

“The ball game was the main sport in Central America before the arrival of the Spanish.”

“Think⟳ things over, Callahan. Get⟳ with it. It's a whole new ball game these days.”

“If a U.S. presidential candidate receives 270 electoral votes, that's the ball game.”

CEFR level