onside kick

Or onsides kick

noun

Football.

1. a kickoff deliberately kicked a short distance in an attempt by the kicking team to regain possession of the ball by recovering it after it has traveled forward the legally required distance of 10 yards, beyond the 50-yard line.

Word History and Origins

Origin of onside kick¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

There’s also been a host of other contributors, from the scouting staff that helped identify the weakness leading to a successful onside kick against Penn State, to the security guards outside Drake Stadium who continually encouraged players walking into practice amid loss after loss to start the season.

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Palos Verdes made a brief rally in the fourth quarter, recovering an onside kick, recovering another fumble and closing to 27-14 on two touchdown passes by senior quarterback Giorgio Di Mascio.

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Bhaghani immediately unfurled an onside kick that Kanye Clark recovered, leading to a field goal and a 10-0 cushion.

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“I saw that it was a broken play and the dude I was supposed to guard wasn’t running a route so I spied on the quarterback and slammed him to the ground,” said Talbert, who recovered the ensuing onside kick.

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Palisades recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock.

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