footballer

IPA/ˈfʊtbɔːlə(r)/
IPA/ˈfʊtbɔːlər/

footballer — noun

  • footballersingular
  • footballersplural

1. Someone whose job or pastime is playing the sport of football (soccer).

1.nounA2
Definition

Someone whose job or pastime is playing the sport of football (soccer).

Example

The young footballer signed his first professional contract at the age of sixteen.

collocation: sign a professional contract

Diego has been a professional footballer for over ten years now.

temporal: for over [number] years

Common collocations
  • professional footballer
  • talented footballer
  • former footballer
  • footballer's career
  • young footballer
Synonyms
  • soccer player

    more common in American English; same meaning

  • player

    broader — can refer to any sport; context clarifies

  • professional

    emphasises that the person is paid for playing; also used for other sports

Usage Note

Commonly used in British English. In American English, soccer player is the more typical term for someone who plays association football.

Common Mistakes

He is a footballer in the NFL.
He is a football player in the NFL.
In American English, footballer usually refers to soccer, not American football.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A footballer is specifically someone who plays football (soccer), often as a career. Soccer player means the same thing but is the standard term in American English, where football refers to a different sport. Player is a broader word that can describe anyone in any sport, game, or team — its meaning depends heavily on context. Professional narrows the focus to someone who is paid for their sport, but it applies across many sports, not just football. For example: 'Rohan has been a professional footballer in Spain for three years' clearly means he earns his living from soccer, while 'Rohan is a good player' could refer to any game.

footballer ↗soccer playerplayer ↗professional ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • professional footballer
  • former footballer

Prepositions

  • for (a team)
  • at (a club)

Etymology

English

Formed from the noun football (a game played with a round ball that you kick) plus the suffix -er, which means 'a person who does something'. The word appeared in the late 1800s, soon after organised football (soccer) became popular in Britain.