new ball
The term "new ball" is primarily used in sports such as cricket and tennis to describe a fresh, unused ball introduced during play.
Definition
B2Cricket
(technical, sport)A fresh, unused cricket ball introduced into play, usually after a certain number of overs.
Example
- The captain decided to take the new ball after 80 overs to give the bowlers an advantage.
B2Tennis
(technical, sport)A fresh set of tennis balls introduced during a match to replace worn-out ones.
Example
- The players were given new balls at the start of the third set.
B2Idiomatic Expression
(informal)A completely different situation requiring a new approach.
Example
- After the merger, it was a whole new ball game for the company.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "new ball":
white ballno ballplain ballball downred ballreturn ballball offsquare ballballs aboutlong ballball upnothing ballother end of the ballgame ballfree ballplay ballcaptain ballballs upair balljump ballfly ballball returngolf ballcue ballcage ballhide the ballball gameball outhidden-ball trickground ballon the ballsilver ballcramp balldrop the ballblue balls