'Bawl' means to cry or shout loudly; 'ball' is the round object for sports, a formal dance, or a great time.
Verb/noun. To cry noisily and loudly. To shout. The sound of loud crying or shouting.
The toddler bawled for twenty minutes when they took away the toy.
He bawled out instructions across the noisy construction site.
She could hear the child bawling at the top of its lungs in the next room.
Noun/verb. A round object used in sports. A formal dance event. Informal: a great time (have a ball).
The goalkeeper caught the ball cleanly in the final minute.
The charity ball raised over fifty thousand pounds for the hospital.
We had an absolute ball at the company retreat — highly recommend it.
Common mistake
"The baby balled all night" when meaning cried (correct: bawled). Or "He balled out the employee" — this is actually also used informally in American English but 'bawled out' (scolded) is the standard form.
Trick to remember it
'Bawl' has AWL like 'squall', 'drawl', 'crawl' — long, drawn-out sounds. 'Ball' has ALL like 'hall', 'call', 'fall' — short, contained sounds.
Quick rule
Is it to cry loudly or shout? 'Bawl'. Is it the sports object, the formal dance, or a great time? 'Ball'.
Did you know?
'Have a ball' originally referred to formal ball events — the most anticipated social occasions of the year for the European aristocracy. An invitation to a royal ball was a major honour. As balls declined in the 20th century, 'having a ball' became a general idiom for extraordinary fun. 'Bawl' likely comes from Old Norse 'baula' (to moo like a cow) or Middle Low German 'balen' — the image of a loud, uncontrolled animal sound applied to human crying.
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
The children had an absolute _____ at the end-of-year party.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
The manager _____ ed out the entire team for missing the critical deadline.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Is it to cry loudly or shout? 'Bawl'. Is it the sports object, the formal dance, or a great time? 'Ball'.
"The baby balled all night" when meaning cried (correct: bawled). Or "He balled out the employee" — this is actually also used informally in American English but 'bawled out' (scolded) is the standard form.
'Bawl' has AWL like 'squall', 'drawl', 'crawl' — long, drawn-out sounds. 'Ball' has ALL like 'hall', 'call', 'fall' — short, contained sounds.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy