How do you use the word "softball" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "softball": The boys played softball. In softball, the ball is pitched underhand.

Softball Meaning

/sˈɔˌftbɔl/

Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

nounA game similar to baseball but played with a larger and softer ball which can be thrown overhand or underhand.

nounThe ball used to play the sport.

Sentence Examples

The boys played softball.

In softball, the ball is pitched underhand.

Most of these terms also apply to softball.

CEFR Practice Quiz

In the game of ____, the pitcher always throws the ball underhand.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

The school organized a ____ tournament for the students to enjoy on the last day of the term.

Word Origin & History

1926: soft + ball. Compare hardball.

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"This will give you someone with whom you can trade softball complaints, which any veteran game-goer will tell you is the key to a good time." — 1996, Andrew Heller, Come Heller High Water, →ISBN, page 55:

"Each man got his share of softballs on Friday night. But for 90 minutes in a dressed-up basketball arena at Washington University, the two candidates were also forced to address the kind of questions they get rarely if ever on the campaign trail: from voters who doubted them and maybe did not even like them very much." — 2004 September 10, James Bennett, “In a Disguised Gym, Softballs and Political Drama”, in The New York Times:

"He [Ben Shapiro] wielded a particularly pointed arrow at Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host, for engaging in what he said was “an act of moral imbecility,” by recently airing a softball interview with Nick Fuentes, an avowed antisemite." — 2025 December 20, Richard Fausset, Ken Bensinger, quoting Ben Shapiro, “Turning Point’s Annual Gathering Turns Into a Gripefest”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:

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