A gumball is a small, round piece of chewing gum with a hard candy shell on the outside and soft, chewy gum on the inside. Gumballs are usually about the size of a marble and come in bright colors like red, blue, yellow, and green.

You've probably seen gumballs in those glass globe machines where you put in a quarter, turn a knob, and a gumball rolls down a chute into your hand. The surprise of not knowing which color you'll get is part of the fun. Gumballs became popular in America in the early 1900s when vending machines started appearing in stores and restaurants.

The word can also describe anything perfectly round and brightly colored like a gumball. A scientist might describe a distant planet as being gumball-pink, or an artist might paint gumball-blue circles on a canvas. The bright, cheerful colors of gumballs have made them a symbol of childhood fun and simple pleasures, even though the flavor usually disappears after just a few minutes of chewing.