ballpark
ballpark Lexical Profile
ballpark Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
North American Approximate or roughly estimated, rather than exact (used before a noun, as in 'a ballpark figure').
"The contractor gave us a ballpark estimate for the kitchen renovation before drawing up the final plans."
• noun
North American A stadium, arena, or enclosed field where baseball is played.
"Thousands of fans gathered at the ballpark to watch the opening game of the season."
North American An approximate range, scope, or area within which a value, estimate, or comparison is considered reasonable.
"Their initial offer was not even in the same ballpark as what the property is actually worth."
• verb
North American To estimate or calculate roughly (a cost, quantity, or figure).
"Can you ballpark the total budget we will need for the marketing campaign?"
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in late 19th-century American English as a compound of 'ball' and 'park' to refer to a baseball stadium. Its figurative sense of an approximate range or estimate emerged in the late 1950s, originally among US Air Force and space program engineers describing whether a trajectory or calculation landed within a designated target area.