forward pass

American  

noun

Football.

1. a pass in which the ball is thrown in the direction of advance toward the opponent's goal.

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forward pass British  

noun

1. Also called: throw-forward.  rugby an illegal pass towards the opponent's dead-ball line

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Etymology

Origin of forward pass

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

forward pass

Tom Brady retired, then unretired, then retired again, and that dude still seems like he wants to put on a helmet and show Raiders fans what a forward pass should look like.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

So rattled were the French that Antoine Dupont threw a horrible forward pass from behind his own tryline, and his intercepted pass led to Kyle Steyn's second try.

From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2026

Each forward pass strengthens the wave, while each backward pass weakens it.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 17, 2026

Already, Tipping is as allergic to subtlety as a forward pass right down the middle on the 50-yard line — or whatever football play would be a really obvious one.

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2025

This is equally true in fact for every man on the team, for every man on the team has something to do on a forward pass.

From The Forward Pass in Football by Elmer Berry