ball game

noun5

1. •
   Any game played with a ball.

   • Basketball, cricket, and football are three kinds of ball game.
2. •
   A specific contest or match between teams playing such a game, in particular a baseball game.

   • George and Harriet went to the stadium to see the ball game.
3. •
   (historical) A sport played in the Aztec and Mayan civilizations; Mesoamerican ballgame.

   • The ball game was the main sport in Central America before the arrival of the Spanish.
4. •
   (figurative) Affair, issue, matter, subject, story, topic.

   • Think things over, Callahan. Get with it. It's a whole new ball game these days. — 1983
5. •
   (slang, figurative) A decisive outcome in regard to some ongoing situation; game over.

   • If a U.S. presidential candidate receives 270 electoral votes, that's the ball game.