on the ball

prepositional phrase

Alert, active, or attentive; on top of things.

“If I had been more on the ball I would have asked when he called me.”

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Meanings

prepositional phrase
  1. idiomaticAlert, active, or attentive; on top of things.

    If I had been more on the ball I would have asked when he called me.

  2. hobbiesBeing in control of the ball.

    ...Rovers were also aided by some poor defending from West Brom, whose lapses at the back undid their excellent work on the ball and condemned Roberto di Matteo's Baggies side to a third straight defeat.

    2010 December 28, Kevin Darlin, “West Brom 1 - 3 Blackburn”, in BBC
  3. Australian rules footballPlaying as a midfielder.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
awareinnovative
Cite this entry
APA

on the ball. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20the%20ball

MLA

“on the ball.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20the%20ball. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “on the ball,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20the%20ball.

Source: on the ball on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.