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Rugby

American  
[ruhg-bee] / ˈrʌg bi /

noun

  1. Also called rugger.  Also called Rugby football.  Usually rugby a form of football, played between two teams of 15 members each, that differs from soccer in freedom to carry the ball, block with the hands and arms, and tackle, and is characterized chiefly by continuous action and prohibition against the use of substitute players.

  2. a town in Warwickshire, in central England.

  3. a coeducational preparatory school in Rugby, England, founded in 1567.

rugby 1 British  
/ ˈrʌɡbɪ /

noun

  1. Also called: rugger.  a form of football played with an oval ball in which the handling and carrying of the ball is permitted

  2. another name for Canadian football

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Rugby 2 British  
/ ˈrʌɡbɪ /

noun

  1. a town in central England, in E Warwickshire: famous public school, founded in 1567. Pop: 61 988 (2001)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Rugby

Probably earlier than 1835–40 Rugby for def. 1; Middle English Rokeby, Rookby, Old English Rocheberie, possibly earlier Hrōcaburg, Hrōceburh (unrecorded) “Hroca's fort,” influenced by Old Norse býr “town, settlement”; borough ( def. )

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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.

Peacock’s also got a ton of live sports, including Premier League soccer, the NBA, college basketball, the PGA, Six Nations Rugby, U.S. national-team soccer and winter sports.

From MarketWatch

Traditional promotion and relegation to and from the top-tier Prem will be scrapped from the start of the 2026-27 season after landmark changes to English rugby were voted through.

From BBC

The change was emphatically backed by the Rugby Football Union's Council, with 51 votes in favour of switching away from a traditional promotion and relegation mechanism and only four against.

From BBC

"It's long been clear that the previous system was not delivering the financial sustainability or long-term confidence the professional game needs," said Mike McTighe, the chair of the Men's Professional Rugby Board.

From BBC

"We know there will be scrutiny, and rightly so. The proof will be in delivery: in improved stability, in renewed investor confidence, in tangible benefits to the women's game and in sustained support for community rugby."

From BBC

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.