What does spitball mean?
A spitball is, in its clearest baseball sense, a ball deliberately wet with saliva before being pitched. The expression can also refer to a makeshift projectile made by compressing paper or another soft material into a ball. Informally, it sometimes describes a badly executed or wildly thrown pitch, though this figurative use can imply that the player deliberately threw the ball poorly rather than that control simply failed. The term is chiefly North American and evokes an old, rule-bending style of baseball, even though deliberately moistening the ball is forbidden in modern organized competition. Outside baseball, the word has a playful, nostalgic quality and is often used when describing improvised projectiles made during childhood or by older forms of entertainment. It is therefore both a technical piece of baseball vocabulary and a vivid example of the sort of colorful, unconventional language that sport preserves.
A baseball deliberately moistened with saliva before being pitched; by extension, an improvised ball-shaped projectile or an unusually poor pitch.
"The umpire accused him of throwing a spitball."
The literal baseball sense is chiefly North American. The informal figurative sense often carries an implication of deliberate or spectacular failure.
To pitch a baseball with saliva on it, or to throw a makeshift ball-shaped projectile.
"He spitballed the paper so hard that it struck the ceiling."
This form is uncommon and generally appears in informal or historical baseball contexts.
Used for individual wet pitches, makeshift projectiles, or figurative disastrous pitches.
"The old film showed the pitcher throwing several spitballs."
A spitball turns an old baseball trick—wetting the ball—into an example of how rules can be bent, or broken.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does spitball come from?
The word is a compound of “spit,” meaning saliva or the act of expelling it, and “ball.” It developed in the context of baseball for a pitch made wet with saliva. The word has also been extended figuratively to describe a poorly controlled pitch and to various handmade ball-shaped projectiles.
Related word forms
How spitball is actually used
The word is chiefly American and most strongly associated with baseball. It can describe an actual wet pitch or, informally, a disastrous or wildly thrown pitch; the literal sense may sound quaint because such pitches are generally prohibited in modern organized baseball.