How to Use hardball in a Sentence

hardball

noun
  • And Democrats aren’t afraid to play hardball.
    — Sudiksha Kochi, The Hill, 5 Jan. 2026
  • That’s in the midst of their current run of non-stop hardball.
    — Paul Daugherty, The Enquirer, 27 May 2021
  • Cantor was ready to play hardball.
    — Thomas Doherty, HollywoodReporter, 28 Feb. 2026
  • This isn't the first time Google has played hardball on this issue.
    — Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, 25 Sep. 2019
  • This time around, Schumer is playing hardball.
    — Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 15 Oct. 2025
  • Good hardballs cost $5 apiece these days, which is just outrageous.
    — Chris Erskine, latimes.com, 11 May 2018
  • Kasich said, and should instead play hardball with them more often.
    — Jonathan Vanian, Fortune, 25 Sep. 2017
  • How to play hardball, if necessary?
    — Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 16 Feb. 2026
  • Most teams have been willing to play more hardball than usual in the second-apron era, even with their stars.
    — Bryan Toporek, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025
  • The rest of the locker room would take notice if management plays hardball with him.
    — Andy Benoit, SI.com, 13 June 2018
  • None of those Hub hardball dustups could have prepared him for what just happened across the pond.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 21 Apr. 2021
  • With five years left on Larkin’s contract, the Wings could decide to play hardball.
    — Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 9 June 2026
  • Senate Democrats are still playing hardball.
    — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 28 Jan. 2026
  • Because, heaven forbid, the country’s top lawyer be thrown a hardball.
    — Maria Kari, Teen Vogue, 11 Oct. 2017
  • Companies play hardball in legal disputes all the time.
    — Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 10 Nov. 2025
  • Teachers have employed hardball tactics in the past to force districts to settle.
    — Kathy Boccella, Philly.com, 5 Sep. 2017
  • All four teams appear to be playing hardball because the league's salary-cap landscape gives them most of the leverage.
    — Bryan Toporek, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
  • This is a place where a lot of hardball negotiators might advise something akin to an ambush.
    — Marshall Bright, refinery29.com, 17 Apr. 2020
  • Trump’s weekend bluster could have just been a bit of last-minute, though probably ill-advised, hardball.
    — Washington Post, 9 May 2019
  • Washington’s hardball, yet start-and-stop approach to trade did open up talks with countries around the world but few deals have been struck.
    — Evan Clark, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
  • The Dutch-Dutch aren’t exactly known for their hardball heroism.
    — Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 6 Feb. 2026
  • Duffy said, citing the campaign’s charges of sexism as a sign that Blackburn intends to play hardball.
    — Joey Garrison, USA TODAY, 13 Feb. 2018
  • Her firing can be seen as a signal that theater producers are willing to play hardball, even with the biggest names.
    — Don Aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, 26 July 2019
  • The entire hardball universe figured Eovaldi was a lock to get the ball in the opener.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 16 Oct. 2021
  • His son, Travis, doesn’t pitch but hits the hardball for the Milwaukee Brewers.
    — Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati.com, 5 Sep. 2017
  • If the parks district is going to sell its sports fields, Happy Valley is going to play hardball.
    — Molly Harbarger, OregonLive.com, 22 May 2017
  • Scudder, the Texas Democratic chair, said his party must be willing to play hardball.
    — Zac Anderson, USA Today, 7 Aug. 2025
  • Hearst, which owns 34 stations around the country, hasn't shied away from playing hardball in retransmission talks in the past.
    — Chris Foran, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 31 Dec. 2019
  • The hundreds of women trying out donned traditional hardball duds with black numbers on pieces of white paper pinned to their torsos.
    — David K. Li, NBC news, 26 Aug. 2025
  • And, in a real hardball move, Democrats could cite the time constraints as reason not to take up any GOP bills.
    — Laura Vozzella, Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hardball.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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