FOOTBALL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does football mean? 

• FOOTBALL (noun)
  The noun FOOTBALL has 2 senses:

1. any of various games played with a ball (round or oval) in which two teams try to kick or carry or propel the ball into each other's goal

2. the inflated oblong ball used in playing American football

  Familiarity information: FOOTBALL used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FOOTBALL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any of various games played with a ball (round or oval) in which two teams try to kick or carry or propel the ball into each other's goal

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

football; football game

Hypernyms ("football" is a kind of...):

contact sport (a sport that necessarily involves body contact between opposing players)

field game (an outdoor game played on a field of specified dimensions)

Meronyms (parts of "football"):

half (one of two divisions into which some games or performances are divided: the two divisions are separated by an interval)

Domain member category:

complete; nail (complete a pass)

ground (throw to the ground in order to stop play and avoid being tackled behind the line of scrimmage)

kick (make a goal)

place-kick (score (a goal) by making a place kick)

quarterback (play the quarterback)

fullback (play the fullback)

line up (take one's position before a kick-off)

quarter ((football, professional basketball) one of four divisions into which some games are divided)

winger ((sports) player in wing position)

wingback ((football) the person who plays wingback)

tight end ((football) an offensive end who lines up close to the tackle)

tackle (seize and throw down an opponent player, who usually carries the ball)

drop-kick; dropkick (drop and kick (a ball) as it touches the ground, as for a field goal)

drop-kick; dropkick (make the point after a touchdown with a dropkick)

place-kicking; place kick ((sports) a kick in which the ball is placed on the ground before kicking)

return (make a return)

broken-field (varying in direction suddenly and frequently)

completed (caught)

uncompleted (not caught or not caught within bounds)

running (of advancing the ball by running)

pass; passing (of advancing the ball by throwing it)

ball-hawking (used of a player skilled in stealing the ball or robbing a batter of a hit)

split end ((football) an offensive end who lines up at a distance from the other linemen)

punt; punting ((football) a kick in which the football is dropped from the hands and kicked before it touches the ground)

dropkick ((football) kicking (as for a field goal) in which the football is dropped and kicked as it touches the ground)

fake; juke ((football) a deceptive move made by a football player)

football score (the score in a football game)

kickoff ((football) a kick from the center of the field to start a football game or to resume it after a score)

professional football (football played for pay)

yard marker ((football) a marker indicating the yard line)

midfield ((sports) the middle part of a playing field (as in football or lacrosse))

back ((football) a person who plays in the backfield)

ball carrier; runner ((football) the player who is carrying (and trying to advance) the ball on an offensive play)

center; snapper ((football) the person who plays center on the line of scrimmage and snaps the ball to the quarterback)

end ((football) the person who plays at one end of the line of scrimmage)

fullback ((football) the running back who plays the fullback position on the offensive team)

halfback ((football) the running back who plays the offensive halfback position)

forward passer; passer ((football) a ball carrier who tries to gain ground by throwing a forward pass)

place-kicker; placekicker ((football) a kicker who makes a place kick for a goal)

punter ((football) a person who kicks the football by dropping it from the hands and contacting it with the foot before it hits the ground)

field general; quarterback; signal caller ((football) the person who plays quarterback)

running back ((football) a back on the offensive team (a fullback or halfback) who tries to advance the ball by carrying it on plays from the line of scrimmage)

rusher ((football) a ball carrier who tries to gain ground by running with the ball)

tailback ((American football) the person who plays tailback)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "football"):

American football; American football game (a game played by two teams of 11 players on a rectangular field 100 yards long; teams try to get possession of the ball and advance it across the opponents goal line in a series of (running or passing) plays)

professional football (football played for pay)

rugby; rugby football; rugger (a form of football played with an oval ball)

association football; soccer (a football game in which two teams of 11 players try to kick or head a ball into the opponents' goal)

Derivation:

footballer (an athlete who plays American football)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The inflated oblong ball used in playing American football

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("football" is a kind of...):

ball (round object that is hit or thrown or kicked in games)

Meronyms (parts of "football"):

bladder (a bag that fills with air)

Derivation:

footballer (an athlete who plays American football)

 Context examples 

Nearly 20 percent of the world's remaining forests are the distance of a football field—or about 100 meters—away from forest edges.

(Shrinking habitats have adverse effects on world ecosystems, NSF)

This hugging distance means that the planet is football shaped due to gravitational tidal forces.

(Hubble Uncovers a ‘Heavy Metal’ Exoplanet Shaped Like a Football, NASA)

This creates a selective sample that may not be representative of all football players.

(Study: Brain Disease Found in Nearly All Deceased US Football Players, VOA News)

The crater spans half the length of a football field and first appeared in March 2012.

(NASA Mars weathercam helps find big new crater, NASA)

Community-associated MRSA happens to people who have close skin-to-skin contact with others, such as athletes involved in football and wrestling.

(MRSA, NIH: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

The comet is also much smaller than astronomers thought, measuring only 1,600 feet across, about the length of five football fields.

(Hubble Takes Close-up Look at Disintegrating Comet, NASA)

To-morrow is the ’Varsity football match.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This is the largest annual deforestation figure since 2008, equivalent to 128 football fields of forest being slashed every hour according to IPAM.

(Amazon lost 7,989 km² of forest in 12 months, Agência Brasil)

Chain mail, or an American football suit—that's what you'll want.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The deforestation of the Atlantic Forest, Brazil's second most important forest, grew 57.7% in a year, from 2015 to 2016, when the biome lost 29,075 hectares, or 29 thousand football fields.

(Brazilian Atlantic Forest deforestation up nearly 60% in a year, Agência Brasil)