special team

American

noun

Football. a group of players fielded for kicking plays, as punts, kickoffs, and field-goal attempts.

special team British

noun

American football any of several predetermined permutations of the players within a team that play in situations, such as kickoffs and attempts at field goals, where the standard offensive and defensive formations are not appropriate

"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

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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.

Prosecutors in Paris on Saturday said they would re-examine the case of Brunel and set up a special team to analyze evidence that could implicate French nationals in the Epstein case.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026

Andrew Friedman did such a spectacular job in shaping such a special team, it would verge on heartbreaking if he allows some of their important free-agent pieces to go their separate ways.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 20, 2024

“And then we had a little problem with some special team stuff and that’s a recipe for a tough one. We need to stay out of the penalty box.”

From Seattle Times • Apr. 27, 2024

Rejecting their plea, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said there were "no grounds" for the investigation to be transferred to a special team and directed Sebi to complete its investigation in a timely manner.

From BBC • Jan. 3, 2024

I heard the police had brought in a psychic, a fingerprint expert, a special team of bloodhounds trained at Dannemora.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023