football

[ foot-bawl ]

noun

1. a game in which two opposing teams of 11 players each defend goals at opposite ends of a field having goal posts at each end, with points being scored chiefly by carrying the ball across the opponent's goal line and by place-kicking or drop-kicking the ball over the crossbar between the opponent's goal posts. Compare conversion ( def 13 ), field goal ( def 1 ), safety ( def 6 ), touchdown.
2. the ball used in this game, an inflated oval with a bladder contained in a casing usually made of leather.
3. Chiefly British. Rugby ( def 1 ).
4. Chiefly British. soccer.
5. something sold at a reduced or special price.
6. any person or thing treated roughly or tossed about:

   They're making a political football of this issue.

7. (initial capital letter) U.S. Government Slang. a briefcase containing the codes and options the president would use to launch a nuclear attack, carried by a military aide and kept available to the president at all times.

verb (used with object)

1. Informal. to offer for sale at a reduced or special price.

football

/ ˈfʊtˌbɔːl /

noun

1. 1. any of various games played with a round or oval ball and usually based on two teams competing to kick, head, carry, or otherwise propel the ball into each other's goal, territory, etc See association football rugby Australian Rules American football Gaelic football
   2. ( as modifier )

      a football ground

      a football supporter

2. the ball used in any of these games or their variants
3. a problem, issue, etc, that is continually passed from one group or person to another and treated as a pretext for argument instead of being resolved

   he accused the government of using the strike as a political football

Derived Forms

• ˈfootˌballer, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of football¹

First recorded in 1350–1400, football is from Middle English fut ball. See foot, ball ¹

Example Sentences

Former Buffalo Bills assistant coach Phoebe Schecter is an NFL pundit and plays for Great Britain's flag football team.

From BBC

I'm sure the message for the Bills this week has been "we have to take care of the football, and when Mahomes turns the ball over, which he has been doing, we have to capitalise".

From BBC

"This is important in our existing businesses, and it's critically important in football. We try to identify, and more importantly support, strong management."

From BBC

For Kaley Cuoco, Sundays mean one thing: football.

From Los Angeles Times

“Because Tom is so obsessed with football, if I wasn’t going to join then I would be an outsider,” she says.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• soccer