goalkeeper
Americannoun
-
goalkeepers
plural
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.
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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.
See Examples For:
However, then-Watford goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, also Brazilian, took them under his wing and even bought them Christmas dinner.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
The 33-year-old is considered available for a potential transfer from Villa after the club signed Japan goalkeeper Zion Suzuki from Parma for about £30m earlier this month.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Defending Saudi Pro League champions Al-Nassr got off to a dreadful start on Tuesday when goalkeeper Bento was sent off after just 12 minutes and they were two goals behind at the break.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
In terms of incomings, Bournemouth are largely done as they close in on a move for Juventus goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 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
That message applied to his goalkeepers - Sanchez and number two Mike Penders, 21, who is waiting to make his debut after returning from a successful loan spell at Strasbourg.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
They have little problem attracting and retaining elite centre-backs and goalkeepers but the scarcity is more obvious further forward, where the most coveted attackers and attacking midfielders still often choose elsewhere.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
The other goalkeepers in England's World Cup squad were Nottingham Forest's Dean Henderson - who was probably regarded as Pickford's understudy as he played in the third-place play-off - and James Trafford of Manchester City.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
In its own discussions, English football felt that merely stopping players going to the technical area would not deter coaches from using goalkeepers to break up play.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
“He used to be one of the best goalkeepers in Kosovo, and everybody wanted to be like him.”
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
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.
