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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

pinball en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • (Southern-England) audio
  • /ˈpɪnˌbɔːl/

Etymology

From pin + ball.

Meanings

  1. (countable, uncountable) A game, played on a device with a sloping base (a pinball machine), in which the player operates a spring-loaded plunger to shoot a ball, between obstacles, and attempts to hit targets and score points.
  2. (countable, uncountable) The ball used in pinball.
  3. (countable, figuratively, uncountable) A situation where a ball is frantically kicked between many players.
    • 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. 2011 January 15, Saj Chowdhury, “Man City 4 - 3 Wolves”, in BBC:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
pinballs Number=Plur lexicographic

Deriveds

pinballer · pinball machine

Descendants

pinball · pinball

Synonyms

silver ball

Translations (38)

fr flipper (game) · ru пинбо́л (game) · de Flipper (game) · cmn 釘球戲 /钉球戏 (game) · fi pallo (ball) · cy pinbel (game) · eo flipero (game) · el φλιπεράκι (game) · sv flipperspel (game) · it biliardino elettrico (game) · ko 핀볼 (game) · ga pionnliathróid (game) · fi flipperipallo (ball) · hu flippergolyó (ball) · fr bille (ball) · mk флипер (game) · de Flipperspiel (game) · ca joc del milió (game) · cmn 彈珠台 (game) · bg флипер (game) · el φλίπερ (game) · uk пінбол (game) · nl flipperspel (game) · pl piłeczka (ball) · ja ピンボール (game) · hu flipper (game) · tr tilt oyunu (game) · ca billar electrònic (game) · cmn 彈球 /弹球 (game) · pl flipper (game) · mk флиперска игра (game) · hu golyó (ball) · it flipper (game) · fi flipperi (game) · pl pinball (game) · nl flipperkast (game) · pt pinball (game) · yue 波子 (ball)

pinball en · VERB

Pronunciation

  • (Southern-England) audio
  • /ˈpɪnˌbɔːl/

Etymology

From pin + ball.

Meanings

  1. (intransitive) To dart about rapidly.
    • They went off the road and pinballed alongside a stretch of guardrail as the Bambis scattered. 2004, David Baldacci, Hour Game:
    • Like most immigrants, Gibbs came South for economic reasons and soon found himself pinballing around a world circumscribed by the hot growth markets... 1996, Peter Applebome, Dixie Rising: How the South is Shaping American Values, Politics and Culture:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
pinballed Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
pinballed Tense=Past lexicographic
pinballing Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
pinballs Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic

Relateds

pachinko · bagatelle

Translations (2)

pl biegać tam i z powrotem (to dart about rapidly) · fi singahdella (to dart about rapidly)