onside

[ on-sahyd, awn- ]

adjective

, Sports.

1. not offside; being within the prescribed line or area at the beginning of or during play or a play.

onside

/ ˌɒnˈsaɪd /

adjective

1. sport (of a player) in a legal position, as when behind the ball or with a required number of opponents between oneself and the opposing team's goal line

adjective

1. See offside
   taking one's part or side; working towards the same goal (esp in the phrase get someone onside ) Compare offside

Word History and Origins

Origin of onside¹

First recorded in 1840–50; on + side ¹

Example Sentences

A high school coach whose teams almost never punt and almost always go for onside kicks — and whose innovative approach has yielded enormous success — is now going to test his tactics at the college level.

From Washington Post

The Eagles tabled their proposal for the fourth-and-15 alternative to the onside kick.

From Washington Post

The proposal was aimed at addressing the increasing futility of attempting to recover an onside kick since the NFL put safety-related rule changes into effect on kickoffs before the 2018 season.

From Washington Post

Successful onside kicks have become increasingly rare in the NFL since the league enacted safety-related rule changes on kickoffs before the 2018 season.

From Washington Post

If Fuller could master onside kicks, she’d be a valuable asset to any NFL team.

From FiveThirtyEight

His most important contribution was recovering an onside kick while playing with the special team.

From The Daily Beast

The young men he called his boys must have all agreed that it was very hard to hurt yourself demonstrating an onside kick.

From The Daily Beast

The old man was demonstrating an onside kick when he injured his hip.

From The Daily Beast

“Onside kicks,” came suddenly from Sid, who had been somewhat quiet.

From Project Gutenberg