Meanings
comparative more ninth-inning · superlative most ninth-inning
- ball gamesHappening in the ninth inning of a baseball game.
- idiomaticHappening as late as possible, eleventh-hour.
2011, November 11. Krystal Peak, "Zynga wants stock back, calls company meritocracy", Vator News. But we can chalk a lot of this ninth-inning scramble to the fact that Zynga issued 33 million in new stock for the 2010, which was just too much to offer out so early in the game.
1 more example
1921. Kenneth D. Cassidy, "Teaching Truck Salesmanship", Michigan Manufacturer & Financial Record. The result has been that some truck manufacturers already have gone into bankruptcy, while many are making a ninth-inning attempt at re-organization in a desperate attempt to ward off failure.
Origin
In baseball, the ninth inning is the last period of the game.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
ninth-inning. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ninth-inning
“ninth-inning.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ninth-inning. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ninth-inning,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ninth-inning.
Source: ninth-inning on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.