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- DictionaryBlack·ball/ˈblakˌbôl/
verb
- 1. reject (someone, usually a candidate applying to become a member of a private club), typically by means of a secret ballot: "her husband was blackballed when he tried to join the Country Club"
The meaning of BLACKBALL is to vote against; especially : to exclude from membership by casting a negative vote.
Blackball most commonly means to blacklist someone or otherwise ban, reject, or unfairly prevent them from joining an organization or participating in something. The act of doing so can also be called a blackball. The word typically implies that the action being taken is both secretive and especially unfair or vengeful.
BLACKBALL meaning: 1. to vote against allowing someone to be a member of an organization or group: 2. to vote against…. Learn more.
to vote against allowing someone to be a member of an organization or group: He was initially blackballed because of a dispute he once had with a couple of the committee members. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases. Organizations - joining & leaving. addition. anti-assimilation.
When you blackball someone, you ban him from a group. A bunch of kids who kick a tattletale out of their secret club essentially blackball him. You can use blackball as a noun or a verb — a blackball is an act of excluding or ostracizing someone.
1. a negative vote or veto. 2. a black wooden ball used to indicate disapproval or to veto in a vote. 3. (Cookery) NZ a hard boiled sweet with black-and-white stripes. vb ( tr) 4. to vote against in a ballot. 5. to exclude (someone) from a group, profession, etc; ostracize. [C18: see sense 2]
3 days ago · noun. 1. Obsolete. a small black ball used as a vote against a person or thing. 2. a secret ballot or vote against a person or thing. verb transitive. 3. to vote against; esp., to vote against letting (a person) join one's organization. 4. to exclude from social life, etc.; ostracize. Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition.
