Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

hardball

/hˈɑɹdbˌɔl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.76 in modern English

Syllables
hard-ball
IPA
/hˈɑɹdbˌɔl/
14
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

In baseball, a type of ball and baseball game, as opposed to softball.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Tough or ruthless behavior, especially in combat, politics or business.

Countable; Uncountable

adj

Being or exhibiting tough or ruthless behavior, especially in combat, politics or business.

verb

To exhibit tough and ruthless behavior towards another individual.

Informal; Transitive verb

Etymology

From hard + ball.

Usage

Inflected Forms

hardballs (plural) more hardball (comparative) most hardball (superlative) hardballs (present, singular) hardballing (participle, present) hardballed (participle, past) hardballed (past)

Derived Forms

hardballer

Phrases

play hardball

Questions

How do you pronounce hardball?
The recorded pronunciation is /hˈɑɹdbˌɔl/.
What does hardball mean?
In baseball, a type of ball and baseball game, as opposed to softball.
Where does hardball come from?
From hard + ball.

How to pronounce hardball

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “hardball”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/hˈɑɹdbˌɔl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “hardball”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “hardball” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.