Definition of balls out
balls out 
adjective
- extreme.
That was one balls-out street race!
by Brad W., Portland, OR, USA, Feb 03 2003.
adverb
- with reckless abandon and extreme courage; HEAD-LONG; WITH A FULL HEAD OF STEAM; GIVING IT ONE'S ALL.
Those motorcyclists took that steep hill balls out!
You just have to go balls out to win this game.
by Jon L., Naples, FL, USA, May 22 1999.
notes
- also balls to the wall.
by Alan H., New York, NY, USA, Jul 31 1998.
- Possible etymology: The original phrase is actually hinted to in the expression "with a full head of steam". In the earliest days of steam engines, Watt style engines and their successors used a centrifugal governor to control speed. The faster the engine was to run the higher the weighted balls on the governor would rise until at full speed they were at their highest and farthest reach from the center: high or full speed was known as running "balls out".
by tg, Georgia, USA, Feb 29 2008.
Discover slang words with the same meaning:
Slang terms with the same root words:
- ball: as balls – ball – (show 49 more)
- out: all blowed out – amped-out – (show 267 more)
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