football

American  

[foot-bawl] / ˈfʊtˌbɔl /

noun

• footballs
  plural

1. a game in which two opposing teams of 11 players each defend goals at opposite ends of a field having goal posts at each end, with points being scored chiefly by carrying the ball across the opponent's goal line and by place-kicking or drop-kicking the ball over the crossbar between the opponent's goal posts.

2. the ball used in this game, an inflated oval with a bladder contained in a casing usually made of leather.

3. Chiefly British. Rugby.

4. Chiefly British. soccer.

5. something sold at a reduced or special price.

6. any person or thing treated roughly or tossed about.

   They're making a political football of this issue.

7. (initial capital letter) a briefcase containing the codes and options the president would use to launch a nuclear attack, carried by a military aide and kept available to the president at all times.

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verb (used with object)

1. Informal. to offer for sale at a reduced or special price.

football British  

/ ˈfʊtˌbɔːl /

noun

1. 1. any of various games played with a round or oval ball and usually based on two teams competing to kick, head, carry, or otherwise propel the ball into each other's goal, territory, etc See association football rugby Australian Rules American football Gaelic football

   2. ( as modifier )

      a football ground

      a football supporter

2. the ball used in any of these games or their variants

3. a problem, issue, etc, that is continually passed from one group or person to another and treated as a pretext for argument instead of being resolved

   he accused the government of using the strike as a political football

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• footballer
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• footballs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of football

First recorded in 1350–1400, football is from Middle English fut ball. See foot, ball ¹

Explanation

Football is a sport. American football is played with an oval ball and the football players tackle each other. In the rest of the world, football is actually soccer. A football also refers to the ball itself. Football is a game in which players, wearing helmets and protective padding, run while holding the ball and pass by throwing it to teammates, and occasionally try to kick the ball through the goalposts. Players also smash into each other, hence the helmets and padding. Soccer, also known as football, involves players kicking the ball with their feet — only the goalkeeper can touch it with her hands. In both sports, at some point a foot hits the ball.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

football footballs

Against all good sense, Ted, an American football coach, moves to England to coach the AFC Richmond Greyhounds, a men’s soccer team, despite knowing nothing about the sport.

From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026

Concacaf, which runs football in North and Central America and the Caribbean, called for a "comprehensive reckoning" of Infantino's presidency after he aborted plans to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

I assure you this is less about sisterly solidarity or my lingering affection for “Ted Lasso” or even a love of soccer – er, football.

From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026

Wales football fans have been left divided over the country's new home kit, with some comparing the pattern on the red shirt to that seen on bus seats.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

Just before our lockers, our path is blocked by a group of football guys doing some sort of elaborate handshake/chant thing.

From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell

The smell of rubbish hangs heavy in the air as pickup trucks and handcarts crawl through narrow alleyways, unloading the day's collections while children weave between them chasing footballs.

From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026

Long before the World Cup kicked off, U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino wasn’t shy about setting extraordinarily high expectations for a country that believes footballs are oblong.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

The people waiting outside our ports of entry are not footballs stopped at the 1-yard line, letters suspended in a mail carrier’s hand, or dinner guests lingering on a porch.

From Slate ● Jun. 26, 2026

“I’ve thrown a lot of footballs, and it’s May and June and I didn’t think it was as necessary to throw as much now,” Herbert said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026

Finsterwald’s backyard was a graveyard of tennis balls and baseballs and footballs and Frisbees and model airplanes and oneway boomerangs.

From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli

Related Words

• soccer