spitball
To moisten the ball with saliva before pitching itTo moisten the ball with saliva before pitching it.
» Scientists have created a forcefield that only repels spitballs.
tvindy · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
2 sensesTo moisten the ball with saliva before pitching it.
(figuratively)To brainstorm ideas.
Examples
5 sentencesScientists have created a forcefield that only repels spitballs.
Whoever's throwing spitballs at me, stop if you know what's good for you.
I'm just spitballing here.
He explained that the teacher had fallen asleep and several boys had started throwing spitballs.
Daniel spit a spitball at Amanda's head.
Origin
From spit + ball.From spit + ball.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
spitballs, spitballing, spitballed, spitballed| Base form | spitball · to spitball |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | spitballs |
| Present participle | spitballing |
| Past simple | spitballed |
| Past participle | spitballed |
regular · Lesson
Word family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.