Ball vs. Guts: What's the Difference?
Edited by Harlon Moss || By Janet White || Updated on September 26, 2023
"Ball" typically refers to a spherical object used in games, while "Guts" denotes the internal organs of an organism or courage in slang.
Key Differences
"Ball" and "Guts" are words with vastly different meanings, making their comparison an interesting linguistic endeavor. A ball, in its most common interpretation, denotes a spherical or near-spherical object. It's often associated with sports or games, like soccer or basketball. In contrast, "Guts" is a word with dual implications. Literally, it pertains to the internal organs, especially those in the stomach. Figuratively, it's colloquially used to denote courage or determination.
Venturing deeper into "Ball," the word is versatile, spanning beyond sports. There are social events named "balls," reminiscent of grand dances in elegant ballrooms. Conversely, "Guts" has a more visceral connotation when speaking biologically. It represents the inner workings of creatures, emphasizing intricacy and vulnerability.
There's also a slang interpretation of both words. In some contexts, "Ball" can pertain to courage, much like "Guts." Someone might say, "You've got balls" to denote admiration for one's bravery. On the other hand, "Guts" as a representation of bravery is more widely recognized and accepted.
The versatility of both terms reveals the richness of language. While "Ball" might evoke images of games or grandeur, "Guts" can elicit thoughts of biological wonder or commendable bravery, depending on the context.
Comparison Chart
Primary Meaning
A spherical object used in games.
The internal organs of an organism.
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Literal Use
Sports equipment or dancing event.
Anatomy or biology.
Slang Connotation
Courage (less common).
Courage or bravery.
Form
Noun.
Noun (plural).
Expression
"Have a ball" (enjoy oneself).
"Have the guts" (have the courage).
Ball and Guts Definitions
Ball
A spherical object used for play.
She kicked the ball into the net.
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Guts
The stomach or belly.
His guts ached from eating too much.
Ball
A formal gathering for dancing.
They danced elegantly at the ball.
Guts
The essential parts or essence of something.
We need to understand the guts of the problem.
Ball
A lump or mass of a particular material.
He formed the dough into a ball.
Guts
The internal parts of an animal, especially when removed from the body.
The butcher removed the guts from the fish.
Ball
A pitch thrown in a way that's deemed outside the strike zone in baseball.
The pitcher threw four balls, leading to a walk.
Guts
The inner workings of a machine or device.
He examined the guts of the computer to fix the issue.
Ball
A spherical object or entity
A steel ball.
Guts
The digestive tract or a portion thereof, especially the intestine or stomach.
Ball
A spherical or almost spherical body
A ball of flame.
Guts
The embryonic digestive tube, consisting of the foregut, the midgut, and the hindgut.
Ball
Any of various movable and round or oblong objects used in various athletic activities and games.
Guts
Guts The bowels or entrails; viscera.
Ball
Such an object moving, thrown, hit, or kicked in a particular manner
A low ball.
A fair ball.
Guts
(Informal) A large belly or abdomen, especially one resulting from overeating or a sedentary lifestyle
“Aldo, old before his time, had grown a gut and developed a persistent phlegmy cough” (Michael Byers).
Ball
A game, especially baseball or basketball, played with such an object.
Guts
Innermost emotional or visceral response
She felt in her gut that he was guilty.
Ball
A pitched baseball that does not pass through the strike zone and is not swung at by the batter.
Guts
Guts The inner or essential parts
“The best part of a good car … is its guts” (Leigh Allison Wilson).
Ball
A solid spherical or pointed projectile, such as one shot from a cannon.
Guts
Guts Informal Courage; fortitude
It takes guts to be a rock climber.
Ball
Projectiles of this kind considered as a group.
Guts
Thin, tough cord made from the intestines of animals, usually sheep, used as strings for musical instruments or as surgical sutures.
Ball
A rounded part or protuberance, especially of the body
The ball of the foot.
Guts
Fibrous material taken from the silk gland of a silkworm before it spins a cocoon, used for fishing tackle.
Ball
A testicle.
Guts
A narrow passage or channel.
Ball
Balls Courage, especially when reckless.
Guts
The central, lengthwise portion of a playing area.
Ball
Balls Great presumptuousness.
Guts
The players occupying this space
The fullback ran up the gut of the defense.
Ball
A formal gathering for social dancing.
Guts
(Slang) A gut course.
Ball
(Informal) An extremely enjoyable time or experience
We had a ball during our vacation.
Guts
To remove the intestines or entrails of; eviscerate.
Ball
To form into a ball.
Guts
To extract essential or major parts of
Gut a manuscript.
Ball
Vulgar Slang To have sexual intercourse with.
Guts
To destroy the interior of
Fire gutted the house.
Ball
To become formed into a ball.
Guts
To reduce or destroy the effectiveness of
A stipulation added at the last minute gutted the ordinance.
Ball
Vulgar Slang To have sexual intercourse.
Guts
Arousing or involving basic emotions; visceral
“Conservationism is a gut issue in the West” (Saturday Review).
Ball
A solid or hollow sphere, or roughly spherical mass.
A ball of spittle; a fecal ball
Guts
Plural of gut
Ball
A quantity of string, thread, etc., wound into a spherical shape.
A ball of wool; a ball of twine
Guts
The entrails or contents of the abdomen.
Ball
(mathematics) Homologue or analogue of a disk in the Euclidean plane.
Guts
Courage; determination.
It must have taken some guts to speak in front of that audience.
She doesn't take any nonsense from anyone—she's got guts.
Ball
(mathematics) In 3-dimensional Euclidean space, the volume bounded by a sphere.
Guts
(informal) Content, substance.
His speech had no guts in it.
Ball
(mathematics) The set of points in a metric space of any number of dimensions lying within a given distance (the radius) of a given point.
Guts
(informal) The essential, core parts.
He knew all about the guts of the business, how things actually get done.
Ball
(mathematics) The set of points in a topological space lying within some open set containing a given point.
Guts
(informal) One's innermost feelings.
If you need someone to spill your guts out to, I'm here.
Ball
A solid, spherical nonexplosive missile for a cannon, rifle, gun, etc.
Guts
The ring in the gambling game two-up in which the spinner operates; the centre.
Ball
A jacketed non-expanding bullet, typically of military origin.
Guts
The center of the field.
Ball
Such bullets collectively.
Guts
To eat greedily.
Ball
A roundish, protuberant portion of some part of the body.
The ball of the thumb
Guts
(informal) To show determination or courage (especially in the combination guts out).
He gutsed out a 6-1 win.
Ball
(anatomy) The front of the bottom of the foot, just behind the toes.
Guts
Fortitude and determination;
He didn't have the guts to try it
Ball
The globe; the earthly sphere.
Guts
Personal courage and determination; toughness of character.
She had the guts to stand up for what she believed.
Ball
An object that is the focus of many sports and games, in which it may be thrown, caught, kicked, bounced, rolled, chased, retrieved, hit with an instrument, spun, etc., usually roughly spherical but whose size, weight, bounciness, colour, etc. differ according to the game
Ball
Any sport or game involving a ball; its play, literally or figuratively.
Ball
A pitch that falls outside of the strike zone.
Ball
An opportunity to launch the pinball into play.
If you get to a million points, you get another ball.
Ball
A single delivery by the bowler, six of which make up an over.
Ball
A pass; a kick of the football towards a teammate.
Ball
A testicle.
Ball
(in the plural) Nonsense.
That’s a load of balls, and you know it!
Ball
(in the plural) Courage.
I doubt he’s got the balls to tell you off.
Ball
A leather-covered cushion, fastened to a handle called a ballstock; formerly used by printers for inking the form, then superseded by the roller.
Ball
A large pill, a form in which medicine was given to horses; a bolus.
Ball
One thousand US dollars.
Ball
A formal dance.
Ball
(informal) A very enjoyable time.
I had a ball at that concert.
Ball
A competitive event among young African-American and Latin American LGBTQ+ people in which prizes are awarded for drag and similar performances. See ball culture.
Ball
(transitive) To form or wind into a ball.
To ball cotton
Ball
(metalworking) To heat in a furnace and form into balls for rolling.
Ball
To have sexual intercourse with.
Ball
(ambitransitive) To gather balls which cling to the feet, as of damp snow or clay; to gather into balls.
The horse balls
The snow balls
Ball
To be hip or cool.
Ball
(university slang) To reject from a fraternity or sorority. (blackball)
Ball
To play basketball.
Ball
(transitive) To punish by affixing a ball and chain.
Ball
(Australian rules football) An appeal by the crowd for holding the ball against a tackled player. This is heard almost any time an opposition player is tackled, without regard to whether the rules about "prior opportunity" to dispose of the ball are fulfilled.
Ball
Any round or roundish body or mass; a sphere or globe; as, a ball of twine; a ball of snow.
Ball
A spherical body of any substance or size used to play with, as by throwing, knocking, kicking, etc.
Ball
A general name for games in which a ball is thrown, kicked, or knocked. See Baseball, and Football.
Ball
Any solid spherical, cylindrical, or conical projectile of lead or iron, to be discharged from a firearm; as, a cannon ball; a rifle ball; - often used collectively; as, powder and ball. Spherical balls for the smaller firearms are commonly called bullets.
Ball
A flaming, roundish body shot into the air; a case filled with combustibles intended to burst and give light or set fire, or to produce smoke or stench; as, a fire ball; a stink ball.
Ball
A leather-covered cushion, fastened to a handle called a ballstock; - formerly used by printers for inking the form, but now superseded by the roller.
Ball
A roundish protuberant portion of some part of the body; as, the ball of the thumb; the ball of the foot.
Ball
A large pill, a form in which medicine is commonly given to horses; a bolus.
Ball
The globe or earth.
Move round the dark terrestrial ball.
Ball
A pitched ball, not struck at by the batter, which fails to pass over the home plate at a height not greater than the batter's shoulder nor less than his knee (i.e. it is outside the strike zone). If the pitcher pitches four balls before three strikes are called, the batter advances to first base, and the action of pitching four balls is called a walk.
Ball
A testicle; usually used in the plural.
Ball
Courage; nerve.
Ball
A social assembly for the purpose of dancing; - usually applied to an occasion lavish or formal.
Ball
A very enjoyable time; as, we had a ball at the wedding.
Ball
To gather balls which cling to the feet, as of damp snow or clay; to gather into balls; as, the horse balls; the snow balls.
Ball
To heat in a furnace and form into balls for rolling.
Ball
To form or wind into a ball; as, to ball cotton.
Ball
Round object that is hit or thrown or kicked in games;
The ball travelled 90 mph on his serve
The mayor threw out the first ball
The ball rolled into the corner pocket
Ball
A solid ball shot by a musket;
They had to carry a ramrod as well as powder and ball
Ball
An object with a spherical shape;
A ball of fire
Ball
The people assembled at a lavish formal dance;
The ball was already emptying out before the fire alarm sounded
Ball
One of the two male reproductive glands that produce spermatozoa and secrete androgens;
She kicked him in the balls and got away
Ball
A spherical object used as a plaything;
He played with his rubber ball in the bathtub
Ball
United States comedienne best known as the star of a popular television program (1911-1989)
Ball
A compact mass;
A ball of mud caught him on the shoulder
Ball
A lavish formal dance
Ball
A more or less rounded anatomical body or mass; ball of the human foot or ball at the base of the thumb;
He stood on the balls of his feet
Ball
A ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of 9 players; teams take turns at bat trying to score run;
He played baseball in high school
There was a baseball game on every empy lot
There was a desire for National League ball in the area
Play ball!
Ball
A pitch that is not in the strike zone;
He threw nine straight balls before the manager yanked him
Ball
Form into a ball by winding or rolling;
Ball wool
Ball
Courage or bravery in slang.
You've got some ball to confront him like that.
FAQs
How is Guts most commonly defined?
As the internal organs of an organism or, colloquially, as courage.
What's the primary definition of Ball?
A spherical object typically used in games or sports.
Is it common to use Ball in reference to bravery?
Less common than using "Guts," but it's occasionally used in such a context.
What's the slang connotation of Guts?
It often refers to having courage or bravery.
Does Guts have a singular form?
Rarely used in singular, but "gut" can refer to the stomach or intuition.
Can Ball refer to an event?
Yes, it can refer to a formal dancing event or gathering.
Do Guts always pertain to animals?
No, while often about animals, it can also refer to the essence of a thing or bravery.
Are there synonyms for Ball?
Yes, sphere, orb, or globe can be synonymous, depending on context.
What are synonyms for Guts in the context of bravery?
Courage, nerve etc.
Is Ball always spherical?
Mostly, but in some contexts, it can mean a lump or mass of something.
Can Ball be used in sports lingo?
Yes, like in baseball to describe a pitch outside the strike zone.
How does Guts relate to machines?
It can describe the inner workings or essential parts of a machine.
About Author
Written by
Janet WhiteJanet White has been an esteemed writer and blogger for Difference Wiki. Holding a Master's degree in Science and Medical Journalism from the prestigious Boston University, she has consistently demonstrated her expertise and passion for her field. When she's not immersed in her work, Janet relishes her time exercising, delving into a good book, and cherishing moments with friends and family.
Edited by
Harlon MossHarlon is a seasoned quality moderator and accomplished content writer for Difference Wiki. An alumnus of the prestigious University of California, he earned his degree in Computer Science. Leveraging his academic background, Harlon brings a meticulous and informed perspective to his work, ensuring content accuracy and excellence.
