takes one's ball and goes home

A form of take one's ball and go home — To cease participating in an activity that has turned to one's disadvantage, especially out of spite, or in a way that prevents others from participating as well.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verb
  1. indicativepresentsingularthird personthird-person singular simple present indicative of take one's ball and go home
Cite this entry
APA

takes one's ball and goes home. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/takes%20one's%20ball%20and%20goes%20home

MLA

“takes one's ball and goes home.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/takes%20one's%20ball%20and%20goes%20home. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “takes one's ball and goes home,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/takes%20one's%20ball%20and%20goes%20home.

Source: takes one's ball and goes home on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.