downfield

American

[daun-feeld] / ˈdaʊnˈfild /

adverb

Football.

past the line of scrimmage and at or toward the goal line of the defensive team.

He sent his receivers downfield. Downfield blocking is important on passes.

Etymology

Origin of downfield

First recorded in 1940–45; down ¹ + field

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

downfield

One toss later, Notre Dame was 36 yards downfield and ready to knock a No. 1 opponent.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2026

Seven minutes later Jackson scored from Suzuki's long launch downfield and it was game over.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

As far as Guess, he can make plays and had multiple downfield passes that fell just incomplete.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026

This being “Ted Lasso,” every determined push downfield strides on a turf green with optimism.

From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026

He continued to fade, fade, easy, easy, stalling until he could spot The Goober, tall and rangy, downfield where he’d be waiting if he had managed to elude the safety- man.

From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023