Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

play hardball

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.76 in modern English

Syllables: play hard-ball
IPA

23

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To use every means possible to achieve a goal, especially in disregarding the harm caused.

Informal

verb

To act rough and ruthless, especially in business or politics.

Informal

Example Sentences

"He was more than willing to extend the terms of the loan, but his boss decided to play hardball and demanded a balloon payment."
"So you wanna play hardball?"
"But if ministers keep on playing hardball with TfL because of narrow party interests, London will lose out. Forcing a 4.8% rise on London fares will only encourage congestion at a time when the roads are already full and public transport is underused."

Etymology

From the American sport of baseball; the hardball is the heavier and harder type of the two types of throwing ball used when playing that sport (i.e. softball).

Usage

Informal

Inflected Forms

plays hardball (present, singular) playing hardball (participle, present) played hardball (participle, past) played hardball (past)

Questions

What does play hardball mean?: To use every means possible to achieve a goal, especially in disregarding the harm caused.
Where does play hardball come from?: From the American sport of baseball; the hardball is the heavier and harder type of the two types of throwing ball used when playing that sport (i.e. softball).

How to pronounce play hardball

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