football
football — noun
- footballsingular
- footballsplural
1. a sport where two groups of eleven players each try to score by kicking or headi
a sport where two groups of eleven players each try to score by kicking or heading a round ball into the opposing team's goal, without using their hands or arms
Tariro plays football every Saturday with her friends at the park near her house.
collocation: play football (uncountable, no article)
The football match between Portugal and France drew over sixty thousand fans.
Hugo twisted his ankle during football practice and missed the rest of the season.
Children in Brazil often learn to play football in the streets with a plastic ball.
collocation: play football in the streets
Sofie's father taught her how to pass a football when she was six.
- play football
- football match
- football team
- football pitch
- football player
- football fan
- soccer
the common term in American English for this sport
- association football
the formal name for the sport, rarely used in everyday conversation
Usage Note
In the United States, this sport is called 'soccer' to avoid confusion with American football. In British English and most other English-speaking countries, 'football' refers to this sport by default.
Common Mistakes
2. a sport mainly played in the United States where eleven-player sides try to adva
a sport mainly played in the United States where eleven-player sides try to advance an oval ball into the opposing team's end zone by carrying it or passing it to teammates
Christopher watches American football on television every Sunday during the season.
collocation: watch American football
The high school team practiced throwing the oval ball across the field in the rain.
Ignacio scored the winning touchdown in the final minute of the championship game.
collocation: score a touchdown
American football players wear helmets and padded uniforms to protect themselves.
Dewi did not understand the rules of American football until her roommate explained them.
- play American football
- football game
- football helmet
- football field
- football season
- gridiron
informal term used mainly within the United States
Usage Note
In the United States, 'football' alone almost always refers to this sport. Outside the US, it is usually called 'American football' to distinguish it from soccer.
Common Mistakes
3. the round ball that players kick and pass around during a soccer match, usually
the round ball that players kick and pass around during a soccer match, usually covered in leather or synthetic panels
The football bounced off the goalpost and rolled into the street.
Meera pumped air into the football until it felt firm enough for the game.
collocation: pump air into the football
Ari spotted a signed football in the shop window and bought it immediately.
The old football had lost its white panels and was now a faded gray color.
Darius kicked the football so hard that it flew over the neighbor's fence.
collocation: kick the football
- kick a football
- pass a football
- bounce a football
- inflate a football
- soccer ball
more specific term, avoids confusion with the American football ball
Usage Note
Unlike senses 1 and 2 (the sport), this sense refers to the physical ball itself and is a countable noun — use 'a football' or 'the football'.
4. the pointed oval ball with laces on its surface, used in American football games
the pointed oval ball with laces on its surface, used in American football games
Sora threw the football in a perfect spiral to the receiver near the goal line.
collocation: throw the football in a spiral
The quarterback fumbled the football when a defender hit his throwing arm.
collocation: fumble the football
Hui caught the wet football and tucked it under her arm before running forward.
A new American football is brown with white stripes at each end.
The referee set the football on the ground to signal the start of play.
- throw a football
- catch a football
- fumble a football
- football laces
- throw a spiral
Usage Note
Distinguishable from sense 3 by the shape — this sense refers to an oval ball with pointed ends, while sense 3 refers to a round ball. Countable noun, typically used with an article.
Common Mistakes
5. a topic or situation that people repeatedly argue about without finding a soluti
a topic or situation that people repeatedly argue about without finding a solution
The proposed highway became a political football in the city council elections.
figurative idiom: political football
Sivan refused to let her retirement plan become a football among her relatives.
Immigration policy has turned into a football that both parties kick back and forth.
figurative extension: kick back and forth
Teachers worry that education funding has become a football for politicians seeking votes.
The old building's future became a football in the debate between developers and preservationists.
- political football
- become a football
- turn into a football
- bone of contention
more formal, emphasises the divisive nature of the topic
- political football
specifically for issues exploited by politicians for advantage
Usage Note
Most commonly found in the fixed expression 'a political football', referring to an issue that politicians use for their own advantage. The image comes from the idea of an issue being 'kicked around' by different groups.