scrimmage
Americannoun
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a rough or vigorous struggle.
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Football.
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the action that takes place between the teams from the moment the ball is snapped until it is declared dead.
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a practice session or informal game, as that played between two units of the same team.
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verb (used with or without object)
noun
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a rough or disorderly struggle
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American football the clash of opposing linemen at every down
verb
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(intr) to engage in a scrimmage
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(tr) to put (the ball) into a scrimmage
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of scrimmage
1425–75; late Middle English, variant of scrimish, metathetic form of skirmish
Explanation
A scrimmage is a practice — not an official game — in American football, hockey, and in other team sports. You might think of football when you hear the word scrimmage, because the ball is placed on the "line of scrimmage" at the start of a play. A scrimmage is also a practice between two squads. You can also use scrimmage as a verb for other types of practicing. A basketball player might scrimmage by shooting one hundred free throws, for example. Originally, scrimmage was a variation on the word skirmish, and meant "a confused struggle between players."
Vocabulary lists containing scrimmage
Tangerine
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American Football, 3rd Quarter
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Crash
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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.
The Super Bowl marked Walker's third straight playoff game with 100-plus scrimmage yards, making him the only player in Seahawks history to accomplish that feat.
From Barron's • Feb. 9, 2026
Daiyan Henley picked off a Maye deflection that was batted at the line of scrimmage by defensive tackle Teair Tart, giving the visitors the ball at the 10.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 11, 2026
Georgia got one snap from scrimmage and had some frantic fun with it, with players making nine lateral tosses like a fledgling rugby squad before quarterback Gunner Stockton was tackled to end the game.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 2, 2026
On the game’s first play from scrimmage, Mendoza took a ferocious hit that knocked him off his feet and deposited him on the carpet, face down, arms wide.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 7, 2025
The Watermelon Feed had come and gone, and so had the pre-season scrimmage.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
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.
