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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

Against a French team that kick for distance, rather than to set up aerial duels, Marcus Smith's ability to pick his way through a broken field will be either a deterrent or a weapon.

From BBC ● Feb. 8, 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

He couldn’t worm his way through a hole in the opposing line the way Slavin could, nor smash through the defense the way Mason did, nor dodge and side-step in a broken field like Pope.

From The Turner Twins by Barbour, Ralph Henry

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

He often turned short passes into long gains through his broken-field running and his 9.6-second speed in the 100-yard dash.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 19, 2022

Ireland just couldn't produce enough quick ball to scramble that Welsh defence and give their broken-field runners space to work in.

From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2015

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