the ball is in your court

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Also seen as: the ball is in someone's court

Sense 1

Meaning · English

It is now your turn to act or make the next decision.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Đến lượt bạn hành động hoặc đưa ra quyết định tiếp theo

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: The ball has landed on your side of the tennis court.

How to use it

✓ Use it when

Negotiations, decisions, or back-and-forth situations.

Register: neutralConnotation: neutralEra: 20th century – present

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

I’ve sent them our final offer — the ball is in their court now.

Editorial example (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).

Sense 2

Meaning · English

Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English
Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review.

Common questions

What does “the ball is in your court” mean?

It is now your turn to act or make the next decision. Literally: The ball has landed on your side of the tennis court.

Is “the ball is in your court” formal or informal?

the ball is in your court is generally neutral; connotation: neutral.