"blackball" meaning in English

See blackball in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈblækbɔːl/ [UK], /ˈblækbɑl/ [US, cot-caught-merger] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Qwertygiy-blackball.wav Forms: blackballs [plural]
enPR: blăk'bôl' Etymology: From black + ball. Etymology templates: {{compound|en|black|ball}} black + ball Head templates: {{en-noun|~}} blackball (countable and uncountable, plural blackballs)
  1. (countable) A rejection; a vote against admitting someone. Tags: countable
    Sense id: en-blackball-en-noun-~F6MK7C8
  2. (countable) A black ball used to indicate such a negative vote. Tags: countable
    Sense id: en-blackball-en-noun-iAoAwutq
  3. (countable) A kind of large black sweet. Tags: countable Synonyms: niggerball
    Sense id: en-blackball-en-noun-3PFzdRER
  4. A substance for blacking shoes, boots, etc. or for taking impressions of engraved work. Tags: countable, uncountable
    Sense id: en-blackball-en-noun-tc7xakFY
  5. (uncountable) A game, a standardized version of the English version of eight-ball. Tags: uncountable Synonyms: reds and yellows
    Sense id: en-blackball-en-noun-fq35is7K Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 2 3 2 3 64 2 25 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 4 4 1 3 57 3 28 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 2 3 1 2 63 2 26

Verb

IPA: /ˈblækbɔːl/ [UK], /ˈblækbɑl/ [US, cot-caught-merger] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Qwertygiy-blackball.wav Forms: blackballs [present, singular, third-person], blackballing [participle, present], blackballed [participle, past], blackballed [past]
enPR: blăk'bôl' Etymology: From black + ball. Etymology templates: {{compound|en|black|ball}} black + ball Head templates: {{en-verb}} blackball (third-person singular simple present blackballs, present participle blackballing, simple past and past participle blackballed)
  1. (transitive) To vote against, especially in an exclusive organization. Tags: transitive
    Sense id: en-blackball-en-verb-Jy4xIFHl
  2. (transitive) To ostracize. Tags: transitive Synonyms: blacklist, send to Coventry, ignore, boycott
    Sense id: en-blackball-en-verb-mNBQesQ3
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: blackballer

Inflected forms

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "black",
        "3": "ball"
      },
      "expansion": "black + ball",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From black + ball.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "blackballs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "~"
      },
      "expansion": "blackball (countable and uncountable, plural blackballs)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "glosses": [
        "A rejection; a vote against admitting someone."
      ],
      "id": "en-blackball-en-noun-~F6MK7C8",
      "links": [
        [
          "rejection",
          "rejection"
        ],
        [
          "admit",
          "admit"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(countable) A rejection; a vote against admitting someone."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Regardless how many other people may have voted to approve a candidate for membership, a single blackball will reject the candidate.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A black ball used to indicate such a negative vote."
      ],
      "id": "en-blackball-en-noun-iAoAwutq",
      "links": [
        [
          "negative",
          "negative"
        ],
        [
          "vote",
          "vote"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(countable) A black ball used to indicate such a negative vote."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "glosses": [
        "A kind of large black sweet."
      ],
      "id": "en-blackball-en-noun-3PFzdRER",
      "links": [
        [
          "black",
          "black"
        ],
        [
          "sweet",
          "sweet"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(countable) A kind of large black sweet."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "niggerball"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "A substance for blacking shoes, boots, etc. or for taking impressions of engraved work."
      ],
      "id": "en-blackball-en-noun-tc7xakFY",
      "links": [
        [
          "black",
          "black"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "2 3 2 3 64 2 25",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "4 4 1 3 57 3 28",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "2 3 1 2 63 2 26",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A game, a standardized version of the English version of eight-ball."
      ],
      "id": "en-blackball-en-noun-fq35is7K",
      "links": [
        [
          "eight-ball",
          "eight-ball"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(uncountable) A game, a standardized version of the English version of eight-ball."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "reds and yellows"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "blăk'bôl'"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈblækbɔːl/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈblækbɑl/",
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "cot-caught-merger"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Qwertygiy-blackball.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/0d/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Qwertygiy-blackball.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Qwertygiy-blackball.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/0d/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Qwertygiy-blackball.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Qwertygiy-blackball.wav.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "blackball"
}

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "blackballer"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "black",
        "3": "ball"
      },
      "expansion": "black + ball",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From black + ball.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "blackballs",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "blackballing",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "blackballed",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "blackballed",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "blackball (third-person singular simple present blackballs, present participle blackballing, simple past and past participle blackballed)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "If you're not from a moneyed, well-connected family, you can count on getting blackballed from the fraternity.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1898, Willa Cather, The Westbound Train:",
          "text": "Why, if I had known you all my life I should have grown up in the condition of Adam before the fall, and they would have blackballed me at the clubs.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To vote against, especially in an exclusive organization."
      ],
      "id": "en-blackball-en-verb-Jy4xIFHl",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To vote against, especially in an exclusive organization."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1968 July, Stan Dryer, “The Fully Automated Love Life of Henry Keanridge”, in Playboy Magazine, page 152:",
          "text": "Henry knew. If he were blackballed by this distaff Mafia, he was doomed: Endless, but always justifiable, delays would occur in the work he wanted typed.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2017 October 21, Mark Townsend, “Weinstein accuser says she was scared to go public with harassment claim”, in The Observer, →ISSN:",
          "text": "The actor Katherine Kendall has revealed how the fear of being “blackballed” by Hollywood’s powerbrokers stopped her from making claims of sexual harassment.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To ostracize."
      ],
      "id": "en-blackball-en-verb-mNBQesQ3",
      "links": [
        [
          "ostracize",
          "ostracize"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To ostracize."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "blacklist"
        },
        {
          "word": "send to Coventry"
        },
        {
          "word": "ignore"
        },
        {
          "word": "boycott"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "blăk'bôl'"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈblækbɔːl/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈblækbɑl/",
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "cot-caught-merger"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Qwertygiy-blackball.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/0d/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Qwertygiy-blackball.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Qwertygiy-blackball.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/0d/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Qwertygiy-blackball.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Qwertygiy-blackball.wav.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "blackball"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English adjective-noun compound nouns",
    "English compound terms",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "English verbs",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "black",
        "3": "ball"
      },
      "expansion": "black + ball",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From black + ball.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "blackballs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "~"
      },
      "expansion": "blackball (countable and uncountable, plural blackballs)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English countable nouns"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A rejection; a vote against admitting someone."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "rejection",
          "rejection"
        ],
        [
          "admit",
          "admit"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(countable) A rejection; a vote against admitting someone."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English countable nouns",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Regardless how many other people may have voted to approve a candidate for membership, a single blackball will reject the candidate.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A black ball used to indicate such a negative vote."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "negative",
          "negative"
        ],
        [
          "vote",
          "vote"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(countable) A black ball used to indicate such a negative vote."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English countable nouns"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A kind of large black sweet."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "black",
          "black"
        ],
        [
          "sweet",
          "sweet"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(countable) A kind of large black sweet."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "niggerball"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "A substance for blacking shoes, boots, etc. or for taking impressions of engraved work."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "black",
          "black"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English uncountable nouns"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A game, a standardized version of the English version of eight-ball."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "eight-ball",
          "eight-ball"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(uncountable) A game, a standardized version of the English version of eight-ball."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "reds and yellows"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "blăk'bôl'"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈblækbɔːl/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈblækbɑl/",
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "cot-caught-merger"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Qwertygiy-blackball.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/0d/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Qwertygiy-blackball.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Qwertygiy-blackball.wav.mp3",
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    }
  ],
  "word": "blackball"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English adjective-noun compound nouns",
    "English compound terms",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "English verbs",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "blackballer"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "black",
        "3": "ball"
      },
      "expansion": "black + ball",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From black + ball.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "blackballs",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "blackballing",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "blackballed",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "blackballed",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "blackball (third-person singular simple present blackballs, present participle blackballing, simple past and past participle blackballed)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "If you're not from a moneyed, well-connected family, you can count on getting blackballed from the fraternity.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1898, Willa Cather, The Westbound Train:",
          "text": "Why, if I had known you all my life I should have grown up in the condition of Adam before the fall, and they would have blackballed me at the clubs.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To vote against, especially in an exclusive organization."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To vote against, especially in an exclusive organization."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1968 July, Stan Dryer, “The Fully Automated Love Life of Henry Keanridge”, in Playboy Magazine, page 152:",
          "text": "Henry knew. If he were blackballed by this distaff Mafia, he was doomed: Endless, but always justifiable, delays would occur in the work he wanted typed.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2017 October 21, Mark Townsend, “Weinstein accuser says she was scared to go public with harassment claim”, in The Observer, →ISSN:",
          "text": "The actor Katherine Kendall has revealed how the fear of being “blackballed” by Hollywood’s powerbrokers stopped her from making claims of sexual harassment.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To ostracize."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "ostracize",
          "ostracize"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To ostracize."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "blacklist"
        },
        {
          "word": "send to Coventry"
        },
        {
          "word": "ignore"
        },
        {
          "word": "boycott"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "blăk'bôl'"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈblækbɔːl/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈblækbɑl/",
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "cot-caught-merger"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Qwertygiy-blackball.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/0d/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Qwertygiy-blackball.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Qwertygiy-blackball.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/0d/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Qwertygiy-blackball.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Qwertygiy-blackball.wav.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "blackball"
}

Download raw JSONL data for blackball meaning in English (5.9kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.