horse-collar

American

[hawrs-kol-er] / ˈhɔrsˌkɒl ər /

noun

(especially in baseball) a score of zero.

verb (used with object)

to prevent (an opposing baseball team or batter) from scoring or making a base hit.

Etymology

Origin of horse-collar

First recorded in 1945–50

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.

The league made the horse-collar tackle illegal several years ago because a defender’s body weight ends up on the legs of the ball carrier, enhancing risk of injury.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 17, 2023

Brown on third down with 7 seconds left, compounding his error by committing a horse-collar tackle that moved the Eagles to the Rams 14-yard line.

From Washington Times • Oct. 9, 2023

He completed a 15-yard pass to Nacua, and a horse-collar penalty added 15 more yards.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 8, 2023

Trevor Siemian took over for Winston after he injured his leg on a horse-collar tackle from Buccaneers linebacker Devin White.

From Fox News • Nov. 1, 2021

Eighteen miles off a man had some extra hand-cut shingles which he was willing to trade for a horse-collar.

From Dust by Haldeman-Julius, Marcet

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