own goal

American  

[ohn gohl] / ˈoʊn ˌgoʊl /

noun

1. Soccer, Ice Hockey. an unintentional goal scored to the offense when the ball struck by a defensive player goes into the defensive team’s net: o.g.

   The goalkeeper's own goal was a stunningly bad moment.

2. an unintentional harm or disadvantage to oneself or one’s associates, brought about by one’s own action, often when the intention was to harm or disadvantage someone else.

   The prosecution’s relentless badgering proved to be an own goal, and a much-relieved defendant went free.

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own goal British  

noun

1. o.g. soccer a goal scored by a player accidentally playing the ball into his own team's net

2. informal any action that results in disadvantage to the person who took it or to a party, group, etc with which that person is associated

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Etymology

Origin of own goal

First recorded in 1920–25

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

own goal

Gary Neville took a deep breath after Lisandro Martinez's own goal put Fulham ahead just over an hour into what had been a laboured Manchester United performance, and delivered his verdict.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

In his short cameo against Liverpool, James Maddison took the ball facing his own goal under pressure.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Plenty of people on the right have realized what an own goal this was, and they have tried to offer a more sympathetic response to women’s struggles.

From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026

But goals from Milan Baros and James Milner made it 3-3, before a Craig Easton own goal, two from Gareth Barry and further strikes from Milner and Steven Davis completed an emphatic turnaround.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

You've got the wind against you; you've got everything against you; you've got to fight on your own goal line, not once, but twenty times.

From The Varmint by Frederic Rodrigo Gruger

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