Let ( M , d ) {\displaystyle {}(M,d)} be a metric space, x ∈ M {\displaystyle {}x\in M} , and ϵ > 0 {\displaystyle {}\epsilon >0} a positive real number. Then
is called the open ball, and
is called the closed ball around x {\displaystyle {}x} of radius ϵ {\displaystyle {}\epsilon } .