ballpark
An estimate or rough idea of how much something will cost is called a ballpark figure.
When we talk about budgets and money, you might hear someone mention a ballpark figure. This means they're giving you an approximate idea of what it will cost to do something, but not exactly the price tag. For example, if you want to know how much a new house will be, your realtor might say it's in the ballpark of $200,000, meaning the price is likely somewhere around that number, but could be higher or lower. Ballpark figures are helpful because they give us an idea of what we can expect, even if the exact numbers aren't available yet.
How common is "ballpark"?
It appears most frequently in newspaper texts and less often in other writings.
noun
A field, stadium or park where ball, especially baseball, is played.
verb
To make a rough estimate of.
Example: If you don’t have the exact expense total, just ballpark it.
adjective
Approximate; close; on the right order of magnitude.
Real examples of "ballpark" in context
