Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ball-buster

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.46 in modern English

Syllables: bal-l--buster
IPA

14

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

4

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Synonym of ball-breaker.

American usage

Etymology

Unknown. By surface analysis, ball + buster. Possibly derived from Yiddish בעל־הביתטע (baleboste, “mistress, lady of the house”), in which case synonyms like ball-breaker and ball-wracker may be secondary derivations. See also Beelzebub for connotations of the same supposed first element. Any deverbal formation conflated with back-breaking may have reinforced the native development.

Origin

Source language: Yiddish

Word Breakdown

Root: בעל־הביתטע

Usage

American usage

Inflected Forms

ball-busters (plural) ballbuster (alternative)

Synonyms

ball-breaker

Questions

What does ball-buster mean?: Synonym of ball-breaker.
Where does ball-buster come from?: It is traced to Yiddish.

How to pronounce ball-buster

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