scrimmage

[ skrim-ij ]
See synonyms for scrimmage on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a rough or vigorous struggle.

  2. Football.

    • the action that takes place between the teams from the moment the ball is snapped until it is declared dead.: Compare line of scrimmage.

    • a practice session or informal game, as that played between two units of the same team.

verb (used with or without object),scrim·maged, scrim·mag·ing.
  1. to engage in a scrimmage.

Origin of scrimmage

1
1425–75; late Middle English, variant of scrimish, metathetic form of skirmish

Other words from scrimmage

  • scrim·mag·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use scrimmage in a sentence

  • A few chairs were broken, as the scrimmagers swept like an avalanche over the room.

    Tell England | Ernest Raymond
  • "I will not be interruckted," said Nan, frowning upon the unseemly scrimmagers.

    Little Men | Louisa May Alcott

British Dictionary definitions for scrimmage

scrimmage

/ (ˈskrɪmɪdʒ) /


noun
  1. a rough or disorderly struggle

  2. American football the clash of opposing linemen at every down

verb
  1. (intr) to engage in a scrimmage

  2. (tr) to put (the ball) into a scrimmage

Origin of scrimmage

1
C15: from earlier scrimish, variant of skirmish

Derived forms of scrimmage

  • scrimmager, noun

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