own goal

[ ohn-gohl ]

noun
  1. Soccer, Ice Hockey. an unintentional goal scored to the offense when the ball struck by a defensive player goes into the defensive team’s net: The goalkeeper's own goal was a stunningly bad moment.Abbreviation: o.g.

  2. an unintentional harm or disadvantage to oneself or one’s associates, brought about by one’s own action, often when the intention was to harm or disadvantage someone else: The prosecution’s relentless badgering proved to be an own goal, and a much-relieved defendant went free.

Origin of own goal

1
First recorded in 1920–25

Words Nearby own goal

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use own goal in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for own goal

own goal

noun
  1. soccer a goal scored by a player accidentally playing the ball into his own team's net: Abbreviation: o.g

  2. informal any action that results in disadvantage to the person who took it or to a party, group, etc with which that person is associated

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012