scrimmage
Americannoun
-
scrimmages
plural
-
a rough or vigorous struggle.
-
Football.
-
the action that takes place between the teams from the moment the ball is snapped until it is declared dead.
-
a practice session or informal game, as that played between two units of the same team.
-
verb (used with or without object)
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scrimmages,
present (3rd person singular)
-
scrimmaged,
past participle, past
-
scrimmaging
present participle
noun
-
a rough or disorderly struggle
-
American football the clash of opposing linemen at every down
verb
-
(intr) to engage in a scrimmage
-
(tr) to put (the ball) into a scrimmage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
scrimmagesimple
-
scrimmagessimple
-
have scrimmagedperfect
-
has scrimmagedperfect
-
am scrimmagingprogressive
-
are scrimmagingprogressive
-
is scrimmagingprogressive
-
have been scrimmagingperfect progressive
-
has been scrimmagingperfect progressive
Past
-
scrimmagedsimple
-
had scrimmagedperfect
-
was scrimmagingprogressive
-
were scrimmagingprogressive
-
had been scrimmagingperfect progressive
Future
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.
See Examples For:
Kick the ball out of the end zone for a touchback, and let Jacksonville try to run an epic last-second play from scrimmage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
A year ago, he completed a remarkable 50% of his passes of at least 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Neither offense did much in the second half after Cleveland scored on its first play from scrimmage, a 32-yard touchdown by Odebunmi.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026
With under a minute remaining, he backpedaled until he was 26.5 yards behind the line of scrimmage, only to uncork a game-tying touchdown pass.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Fornatee walked back to the jungle gym, where Prince and some of his other friends had gathered to watch the scrimmage.
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
Hyde referred to these scrimmages as the Ben Rice League.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Then came the Americans, who often acted as if they would have been content to slog through meaningless scrimmages in half-empty spring-training stadiums.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
Most teams had scrimmages this past week and games begin Friday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2024
An early enrollee from northern California, Cusano made sterling plays in scrimmages, and he totaled three tackles in the spring game.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 29, 2024
During practice, he snapped at kids who made bad passes or who couldn’t set him up for a shot during scrimmages.
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
While his peers scrimmaged against players in their own grade, the young Kon Knueppel spent his evenings taking a crash course in basketball nitty-gritty from guys two or three times his age.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
Warriors: Veteran Andre Iguodala, yet to play in a game this season, scrimmaged with the G League squad earlier in the day at Chase Center.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 3, 2023
That was a familiar team to the Pioneers, who had scrimmaged against the Eagles in the preseason, but it was not the squad they were expecting.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 21, 2022
Centennial has already scrimmaged against Mater Dei this preseason.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2022
I kept my head where it was supposed to be, in the moment, even when we scrimmaged.
From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds
“Let’s get the coaches on the side and let’s start getting into more scrimmaging and stuff like that.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2025
That will include a ramp up of scrimmaging in a similar way the Warriors do with a player coming back from injury.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 7, 2024
Curry could return as soon as Sunday after scrimmaging for a third straight day.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 3, 2023
“When we get into competitive drills or scrimmaging, it can get intense,” Caldwell said.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 14, 2022
At an early practice, as the boys were scrimmaging, a gaggle of geese took flight from a pond on the other side of the woods.
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
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.
