Etymology From ball + -er. The sense referring to extravagance comes from NBA b-ballers being wealthy.
1
A kitchenware utensil for cutting ball-shaped pieces of foods.
fruit baller
2
A person employed to divide molten metal into separate balls before it is hammered out.
3
Hobbies, Lifestyle, SportsSlang One who plays basketball (US) or association football (UK).
I wish I was a little bit taller, I wish I was a baller.1995, Skee-Lo, “I Wish”:
I want them aspiring to be scientists and engineers, doctors and teachers, not just ballers and rappers.2009 July 17, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, “Obama Tells Fellow Blacks: ‘No Excuses’ for Any Failure”, in New York Times:
4
Slang One who has swag and lives an extravagant lifestyle.
African-American Vernacular
Did you see that car? He’s such a baller.
Now… what y'all wanna do? / Wanna be ballers? Shot-callers? Brawlers?1997, “It's All About the Benjamins”, in No Way Out, performed by Puff Daddy ft. Lil' Kim, the Lox, and The Notorious B.I.G.:
1 more example
But you really wouldn't mind a millionaire / All them big ballers / Don't do nothing for ya / But you'd love a rich man six-foot-two or taller2004, Amy Winehouse, Salaam Remi, “Fuck Me Pumps”, in Frank, performed by Amy Winehouse:
Fashion, LifestylePhilippines, Abbreviation, Colloquial, Ellipsis Ellipsis of baller band, a silicone rubber wristband, originating as a basketball sports wristband.
baller
adj
Etymology From ball + -er. The sense referring to extravagance comes from NBA b-ballers being wealthy.
All you baller playa's got some insecurities too / That you could cover up, bling it up, cash in and cha-ching it up2004, “Black Stacey”, in Saul Williams, performed by Saul Williams:
(Being an OG is not as baller as you'd think.)2014, Kele Moon, The Viper, →ISBN:
2 more examples
The most baller Los Angeles investor, Paige Craig, doesn’t have a Wikipedia page, but you can find out everything about him on his Everipedia page. Are you going to be pitching him?2015 December 11, Viputheshwar Sitaraman, “Q&A: Mahbod Moghadam — Cofounder, Everipedia”, in HuffPost:
Had dinner with the Arkins at Giuliana's restaurant, RPM, which is like a nightclub. They put a security guard in front of our booth, which felt very baller.2016, Andy Cohen, Superficial: More Adventures from the Andy Cohen Diaries, →ISBN: