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pinball. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
pinball, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
pinball in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
pinball you have here. The definition of the word
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pinball, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From pin + ball.
Pronunciation
Noun
pinball (countable and uncountable, plural pinballs)
- (games) A game, played on a device with a sloping base, in which the player operates a spring-loaded plunger to shoot a ball, between obstacles, and attempts to hit targets and score points.
- The ball used in pinball.
- (figuratively, soccer) A situation where a ball is frantically kicked between many players.
2011 January 15, Saj Chowdhury, “Man City 4 - 3 Wolves”, in BBC:The opener came from a Jarvis ball which struck Aleksandar Kolarov en route to a lively round of pinball between City players before it was poked in by Milijas.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Descendants
Translations
Verb
pinball (third-person singular simple present pinballs, present participle pinballing, simple past and past participle pinballed)
- (intransitive) To dart about rapidly.
1996, Peter Applebome, Dixie Rising: How the South is Shaping American Values, Politics and Culture:Like most immigrants, Gibbs came South for economic reasons and soon found himself pinballing around a world circumscribed by the hot growth markets...
2004, David Baldacci, Hour Game:They went off the road and pinballed alongside a stretch of guardrail as the Bambis scattered.
Translations
See also
Portuguese
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English pinball.
Pronunciation
Noun
pinball m (plural pinballs)
- (games) pinball (an arcade game)
Spanish
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English pinball.
Pronunciation
Noun
pinball m (plural pinballs)
- pinball
Usage notes
According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.