Word.ws English Dictionary

behind the eight ball

behind the eight ball is the alternative form 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 eight ball

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

Words near behind the eight ball in the dictionary

  1. behind the bit
  2. behind the counter
  3. behind the curtain
  4. behind the curve
  5. behind the ear
  6. behind the eight ball
  7. behind the eight-ball
  8. behind the eightball
  9. behind the scene
  10. behind the scenes
  11. behind the times

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: behind the eight 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 eight ball.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/behind_the_eight_ball. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.