goalkeeper
Americannoun
noun
Usage
What does goalkeeper mean? In sports like soccer (football) and hockey, the goalkeeper is the player positioned in front of the goal whose job is to prevent the ball or puck from entering it (or crossing the goal line). Goalkeeper can be used to refer to the position or the player. A goalkeeper might say they play goalkeeper. A common informal word for goalkeeper is goalie. In some sports, a goalkeeper is called a goaltender. In soccer, the goalkeeper is sometimes called the keeper. Example: When I played soccer, I was the goalkeeper, and I was pretty good, especially because I was quick and had long arms for my age.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of goalkeeper
Vocabulary lists containing goalkeeper
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.
Guardiola's three children, as well as former captain Fernandinho, ex-sporting director Txiki Begiristain and goalkeeper Ederson - who left last summer - helped bring out all 20 trophies won under Guardiola.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
There is the tale of how after a game where Liverpool beat Watford 5-0, Salah asked Ben Foster which way the goalkeeper would have dived if there had been a penalty.
From BBC • May 23, 2026
Theresa Ferguson said she told Prince William he had "goalkeeper hands" and he replied to say the Aston Villa goalkeeper had played with a broken finger.
From BBC • May 21, 2026
It should hardly be a surprise then that Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya has posted 19 shutouts this season.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026
It was only about a year since I had run from my first lion, and now the goalkeeper for the other team had become a lion to me.
From "Facing the Lion" by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton and Herman Viola
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
