Word.ws English Dictionary

behind the eightball

behind the eightball 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 eightball

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

Words near behind the eightball in the dictionary

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

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: behind the eightball (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 eightball.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/behind_the_eightball. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.