Word.ws English Dictionary

behind the 8-ball

behind the 8-ball is the alternative spelling of behind the eight-ball.

Meaning of behind the eight-ball

Prepositional phrase

  1. (idiomatic) In a difficult situation or tight spot; at a disadvantage.
    • After his last two projects failed, he was really behind the eight-ball.
    Synonyms:
    snookered

Questions about behind the 8-ball

What is behind the 8-ball the alternative spelling of?
Behind the 8-ball is the alternative spelling of behind the eight-ball.

Words near behind the 8-ball in the dictionary

  1. behind in the count
  2. behind its time
  3. behind post
  4. behind posts
  5. behind someone's back
  6. behind the 8-ball
  7. behind the arc
  8. behind the bit
  9. behind the counter
  10. behind the curtain
  11. behind the curve

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: behind the 8-ball (page history and authors); behind the eight-ball (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “behind the 8-ball.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/behind_the_8-ball. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.