"blackball" meaning in English

See blackball in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈblækbɔːl/ Forms: blackballs [plural]
enPR: blăk'bôl' Etymology: 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, English entries with language name categories using raw markup Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 2 3 2 2 63 3 24 Disambiguation of English entries with language name categories using raw markup: 2 3 1 2 58 2 33

Verb

IPA: /ˈblækbɔːl/ Forms: blackballs [present, singular, third-person], blackballing [participle, present], blackballed [participle, past], blackballed [past]
enPR: blăk'bôl' Etymology: 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

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for blackball meaning in English (4.8kB)

{
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "black",
        "3": "ball"
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      "expansion": "black + ball",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "black + ball",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "blackballs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
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  ],
  "head_templates": [
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      "args": {
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
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      "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"
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      ],
      "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"
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    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "2 3 2 2 63 3 24",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "2 3 1 2 58 2 33",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "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": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈblækbɔːl/"
    },
    {
      "enpr": "blăk'bôl'"
    }
  ],
  "word": "blackball"
}

{
  "etymology_templates": [
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      "args": {
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        "2": "black",
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      "expansion": "black + ball",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "black + ball",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "blackballs",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "blackballing",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "blackballed",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "blackballed",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
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  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "blackball (third-person singular simple present blackballs, present participle blackballing, simple past and past participle blackballed)",
      "name": "en-verb"
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  ],
  "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": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "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": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "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": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "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": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈblækbɔːl/"
    },
    {
      "enpr": "blăk'bôl'"
    }
  ],
  "word": "blackball"
}
{
  "categories": [
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    "English adjective-noun compound nouns",
    "English compound terms",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
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  "etymology_text": "black + ball",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "blackballs",
      "tags": [
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      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
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      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A rejection; a vote against admitting someone."
      ],
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          "rejection",
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        ],
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          "admit",
          "admit"
        ]
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        "(countable) A rejection; a vote against admitting someone."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable"
      ]
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        "English terms with usage examples"
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      "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": [
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          "negative"
        ],
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          "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."
      ],
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          "black",
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        ],
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          "sweet",
          "sweet"
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      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(countable) A kind of large black sweet."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "niggerball"
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      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable"
      ]
    },
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      "glosses": [
        "A substance for blacking shoes, boots, etc. or for taking impressions of engraved work."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "black",
          "black"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
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      ],
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        "A game, a standardized version of the English version of eight-ball."
      ],
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          "eight-ball"
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        "(uncountable) A game, a standardized version of the English version of eight-ball."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "reds and yellows"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈblækbɔːl/"
    },
    {
      "enpr": "blăk'bôl'"
    }
  ],
  "word": "blackball"
}

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    "English compound terms",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
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  "etymology_text": "black + ball",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "blackballs",
      "tags": [
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        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "blackballing",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
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    },
    {
      "form": "blackballed",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
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    },
    {
      "form": "blackballed",
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        "past"
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  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "blackball (third-person singular simple present blackballs, present participle blackballing, simple past and past participle blackballed)",
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  ],
  "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": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "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": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "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": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "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": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈblækbɔːl/"
    },
    {
      "enpr": "blăk'bôl'"
    }
  ],
  "word": "blackball"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-30 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (210104c and c9440ce). 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.