How to use pinball in a sentence

18 example sentences · noun, verb

Pinball means a game, played on a device with a sloping base (a pinball machine), in which the player operates a spring-loaded plunger to shoot a ball, between obstacles, and attempts to hit targets and score points. Example: “You’ve been on that pinball machine long enough—now let your brother have a go.”

Examples of pinball by meaning

nounA situation where a ball is frantically kicked between many players.

The opener came from a Jarvis ball which struck Aleksandar Kolarov en route to a lively round of pinball between City players before it was poked in by Milijas.2011 January 15, Saj Chowdhury, “Man City 4 - 3 Wolves”, in BBC

verbTo dart about rapidly.

They went off the road and pinballed alongside a stretch of guardrail as the Bambis scattered.2004, David Baldacci, Hour Game

More sentences with pinball

You’ve been on that pinball machine long enough—now let your brother have a go.From the entry go
We have designed the new pinball table to be untiltable, to prevent players from cheating.From the entry untiltable
This video game simulates a pinball machine.From the entry simulate
I used to spend my Sundays playing pinball despite it being de jure illegal under an unenforced bylaw.From the entry de jure
Pro Pinball is as authentic as pinball has ever been on the PC.1997, Windows magazine, volume 8, numbers 1-3. From the entry sinkhole
When I am not playing pinball or working at my survival job, I am usually writing.1978 April 15, Pat M. Kuras, “Why's a Nice Dyke Like Me Writing For A Paper Like This?”, in Gay Community News, page 9. From the entry survival
By night, she assisted at a pinball stall, collecting tickets and putting out tennis balls for a game of “tikam tikam”.2019, Yik Kwei, The Adventurous Streak - Revised, Partridge Publishing Singapore, →ISBN. From the entry tikam-tikam
At times, Swindon's penalty box resembled a pinball machine.2000 March 12, Stuart Barnes, “Swindon stunner for Curbishley”, in The Guardian, →ISSN. From the entry penalty box
Like the pool sharks and pinball wizards before them, "vidkids" have invaded the world and are just as controversial.1999, Ruth Russell, Pastimes, page 108. From the entry vidkid
En route home, I stop in a store to put a few dozen jits in a pinball machine.1942, Richard A. L. van Schwartz, "A Day in the Life of a Juvenile Fan", Boskonian (#1), page 2. From the entry jit
Early pinball machines demanded that a player shake the entire table in an effort to guide the ball through the obstacles (pins—hence the name).2012 February 24, Rebecca J. Rosen, “The Glory of the Pinball Machine”, in The Atlantic. From the entry flipper
'Give me a buzz when you think you can squeeze me in between English lit and the pinball championships and the gruellings of overwork, OK?'2005, Dai Vaughan, Non-return, →ISBN, page 81. From the entry gruelling
Pinball Magic is a lightning fast game and has flippers that have a better feel than any game made before or since.2005, Kevin Strasser, The PinBotz Guide to the Greatest Pinball Machines of the 80s And 90s. From the entry unshopped
We'd emerge from the subterranean station into Forty-second Street's urban blightscape: the tawdry glow of crumbling old theaters; noisy-clanging-beeping pinball arcades; greasy luncheonettes; and cheap-looking hookers.2009, Nelson George, City Kid, unnumbered page. From the entry blightscape
Playing pinball requires total concentration, the right combination of skill and chance, a mastery of indeterminacy as the ball moves across the playboard and interacts with bumpers and cushions.1983, Heinz R. Pagels, The cosmic code: quantum physics as the language of nature. From the entry playboard
Although it is not a boisterous or brawly bar, there is a constant flow of noises from the television, the jukebox, the pool table, pinball machine, and telephone.1974, James Michael Brady, Bookmaking: The Sociology of an Illegal Occupation, page 70. From the entry brawly

Meaning of pinball

noun A game, played on a device with a sloping base (a pinball machine), in which the player operates a spring-loaded plunger to shoot a ball, between obstacles, and attempts to hit targets and score points.
noun The ball used in pinball.
noun A situation where a ball is frantically kicked between many players.

Full definition of pinball

Questions about pinball in a sentence

How do you use pinball in a sentence?: Pinball is used as a noun and verb. For example: “You’ve been on that pinball machine long enough—now let your brother have a go.”
What is a short sentence with pinball?: “This video game simulates a pinball machine.”
What does pinball mean?: Pinball means a game, played on a device with a sloping base (a pinball machine), in which the player operates a spring-loaded plunger to shoot a ball, between obstacles, and attempts to hit targets and score points.

Adapted from Wiktionary: pinball (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use pinball in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/pinball. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.