straight-arm

[ streyt-ahrm ]

verb (used with object)

Football. to push (a potential tackler) away by holding the arm out straight; stiff-arm.
to force, push, or fend off by or as if by holding out a stiff arm against obstacles: He straight-armed his way into the middle of the crowded room.

noun

Football. an act or instance of straight-arming.

Origin of straight-arm

First recorded in 1900–05

Also stiff-arm.

Words Nearby straight-arm

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use straight-arm in a sentence

By-and-by these exercises will come as easy as was the straight-arm work.
How to Get Strong and How to Stay So | William Blaikie
Another clerk reached out and Rick gave him a straight arm that cleared the way long enough for a jump to the outside.
The Egyptian Cat Mystery | Harold Leland Goodwin
He lunged forward as he spoke, shooting a straight-arm blow for Fyfe's face.
Big Timber | Bertrand W. Sinclair
He rushed and drove a straight-arm jab, which had it reached would have given him the purse.
The Wit and Humor of America, Volume IV. (of X.) | Various
After that, in the general way he has of handling himself, from falling on the ball to dodging and straight arm.
Football Days | William H. Edwards

British Dictionary definitions for straight-arm

straight-arm

adjective

rugby (of a tackle) performed with the arm fully extended

verb

(tr) to ward off (an opponent) with the arm outstretched

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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