Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

balls about

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.51 in modern English

Syllables: ball-s about
IPA

14

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To engage in a lot of activity with many unwanted or unnecessary details.

British usage; Slang

verb

To bullshit; to speak or act as a joke or with no real point.

British usage; Slang

Example Sentences

"This is just comfortable. I don't want no ballsing about with rows and noise in flats."
"All that ballsing about for nothing."
"If we can render them [ICJP] ineffective now, then we leave the way clear for a direct approach without all the ballsing about."
"'You're on the front page of the Irish News.' 'Are you ballsing about?'"

Usage

British usage
Slang

Inflected Forms

ballses about (present, singular) ballsing about (participle, present) ballsed about (participle, past) ballsed about (past) balls around (alternative)

Questions

What does balls about mean?: To engage in a lot of activity with many unwanted or unnecessary details.

How to pronounce balls about

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