(slang, dated) To depart, especially quickly; to hurry away; to leave at a particular speed.
(slang, dated) To depart, especially quickly; to hurry away; to leave at a particular speed.
The ship balled off at 12 knots.
Ball off means: To depart, especially quickly; to hurry away; to leave at a particular speed.. It is informal slang, fine in casual speech but not suited to formal contexts. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
ball off means: To depart, especially quickly; to hurry away; to leave at a particular speed.. Register: dated, informal. Suitable only for casual conversation, chat and social media. Do not use in business, academic or news writing. A common learner mistake is using the word in a register it does not fit, or assuming a single global meaning; native speakers immediately notice when slang appears in formal contexts, so always check the surrounding register before producing it yourself.
Ball off means: To depart, especially quickly; to hurry away; to leave at a particular speed.. It is informal slang, fine in casual speech but not suited to formal contexts. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
Add your own interpretation of "ball off".
The vocabulary of software engineers, AI researchers, and anyone living in a terminal or on GitHub — from LLM to MCP, CORS to vibe coding, agentic to enshittification.
See all Tech, Dev & AI slang on Slangora.
Browse all slang words starting with B.
(slang, dated) (to leave at a particular speed).
19th-century British slang, recorded in flash/cant dictionaries, meaning to depart quickly or at speed — possibly alluding to a cannonball or fast-rolling ball. Register is breezy and colloquial; used to express sudden, energetic departure.
(slang, idiomatic) To back off; to leave alone.
(slang, intransitive) To ejaculate.
No comments yet — say something.
(archaic, nautical) To spin rope-yarns into balls, in preparation for making spun yarn.
The ship balled off at 12 knots.
No comments yet — say something.