blue balls

noun

A cramp-like ache in the testicles and prostate region caused by prolonged sexual arousal; testicles experiencing such an ache.

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Meanings

nounblue balls pl (plural only)
  1. pluralplural onlyslangA cramp-like ache in the testicles and prostate region caused by prolonged sexual arousal; testicles experiencing such an ache.
  2. figurativelypluralplural onlyslangUnfulfilled sexual desire.
  3. USdatedpluralplural onlyslangBuboes (in a person of any sex) caused by a sexually transmitted infection; the infection that causes them.

    [...] away the flesh and cause ulcers and buboes (blue balls).

    1920, V.D. pamphlet, page 33
    1 more example

    It invades lymphatics, is carried to the inguinal lymph nodes, where multiple abscesses, buboes, or "blue balls" appear. A brawny edema of the labia, with deeply penetrating destructive ulcers may occur in the late stages.

    1960, Laman Alexander Gray, A Text Book of Gynecology, page 47

Origin

US English, 1910s, blue + balls (“testicles”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Norwegian Bokmål ballespreng, ballespreng
  • ballesprengunspecified pain in the testicles and prostate region
  • ballesprengunfulfilled sexual desire
Cite this entry
APA

blue balls. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blue%20balls

MLA

“blue balls.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blue%20balls. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “blue balls,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blue%20balls.

Source: blue balls on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.