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• broken field
  broken field

  noun

  open field.
• broken-field
  broken-field

  adjective

  performed, as by a ball-carrier, in a wide-open area covered by few defensive players, as opposed to the heavily trafficked area near the line of scrimmage.

broken field

¹ American  

noun

1. open field.

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broken-field ² American  

[broh-kuhn-feeld] / ˈbroʊ kənˈfild /

adjective

Football.

1. performed, as by a ball-carrier, in a wide-open area covered by few defensive players, as opposed to the heavily trafficked area near the line of scrimmage.

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Etymology

Origin of broken field¹

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900

Origin of broken-field²

An Americanism dating back to 1920–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

broken field broken-field

Because Bordeaux's backline, marshalled by the quicksilver Mathieu Jalibert and laced with the pace of Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey, is the most dangerous in the competition off turnover ball and in broken field.

From BBC ● May 24, 2025

His teammate Perry called him the best broken field runner he had ever seen.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 23, 2022

De Laura fired a pass at midfield to Joey Hobert, who made a great broken field run to complete a 55-yard touchdown and lift Washington State to a 17-10 lead late in the third.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 9, 2021

Manoa gets it back though and MacGinty goes searing through the broken field, dummying and getting up to the 22.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 20, 2015

Like a broken field runner going absolutely haywire he dodged this way and that, and ducked under wings, or around parked planes.

From Dave Dawson on Guadalcanal by Bowen, Robert Sydney

Matthieu Jalibert, a broken-field fiend, accepted the invite to run back and England were back under the pump.

From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2026

Messi made it happen, though, dropping a shoulder and darting into the midfield, drawing defenders to him on a long, broken-field run.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2022

Newton turned a potential sack into a 25-yard broken-field waltz, with hardly a glove laid on him.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 24, 2011

We noted, when the bus had to reroute around a temporary blockage, that the on-board voice called out the stops correctly as we approached them, even though we were doing broken-field running.

From Forbes ● Jul. 13, 2011

The return of Tom Croft, who missed the Six Nations with knee trouble, injects further pace into the broken-field mix should England choose to do anything beyond scrummaging.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 10, 2010