What does "football" mean?
A sport played on foot in which teams attempt to get a ball into a goal or zone defended by the other team.
Football
/ˈfʊtbɔːl/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A sport played on foot in which teams attempt to get a ball into a goal or zone defended by the other team.
- Grammar: football is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: ball, gridiron, soccer, administrative.
- Useful contrasts: nonathletic, nonfootball, nonfootball culture.
- Usage evidence: The English team beat the Brazilian team in the international football tournament.
How to use "football"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "football" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "football" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "football" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "football" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "football" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "ball" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "football", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A sport played on foot in which teams attempt to get a ball into a goal or zone defended by the other team. countable, uncountable
"Roman and medieval football matches were more violent than any modern type of football."
- 2 any of various games played with a ball (round or oval) in which two teams try to kick or carry or propel the ball into each other's goal wordnet
- 3 The ball used in any game called "football". countable
"The player kicked the football."
- 4 the inflated oblong ball used in playing American football wordnet
- 5 Association football, also called soccer: a game in which two teams each contend to get a round ball into the other team's goal primarily by kicking the ball. Africa, Caribbean, South-Asia, UK, uncountable
"Each team scored three goals when they played football."
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 American football: a game played on a field 100 yards long and 53 1/3 yards wide in which two teams of 11 players attempt to get an ovoid ball to the end of each other's territory. US, uncountable
"Each team scored two touchdowns when they played football."
- 7 Canadian football: a game played on a field 110 yards long and 65 yards wide in which two teams of 12 players attempt to get an ovoid ball to the end of each other's territory. Canada, uncountable
"They played football in the snow."
- 8 Australian rules football. Australia, New-South-Wales, South, Southern, Tasmania, Western, uncountable
"The weekend after AFL football chief Simon Lethlean made it clear players who jumper punched or punched opponents in the stomach would most likely be suspended, Jones was charged with striking Hawthorn’s Luke Breust."
- 9 Gaelic football: a field game played with similar rules to hurling, but using hands and feet rather than a stick, and a ball, similar to, yet smaller than a soccer ball. Ireland, uncountable
- 10 Any form of rugby. Australia, New-Zealand, countable, uncountable
"There's another game of football and there's a gold team and Mum and Dad are both on it!"
- 11 Any form of rugby.; rugby league. Australia, New-South-Wales, New-Zealand, uncountable
- 12 Any form of rugby.; rugby union. Australia, Ireland, New-Zealand, uncountable
- 13 Practice of these particular games, or techniques used in them. uncountable
"Both teams played open, attacking football and in the first thirty minutes, the referee barely blew his whistle."
- 14 An item of discussion, particularly in a back-and-forth manner countable, figuratively
"That budget item became a political football."
- 15 The leather briefcase containing classified nuclear war plans which is always near the US President. US, countable, slang
"The aide rides, along with the president's physician, in the “control car,” third in line in the motorcade. He is responsible for the football (or “black box” or “black bag”), a briefcase containing the codes and targeting information the president would require to order or authorize a nuclear attack."
Verb
- 1 To play football. intransitive, rare
"It was an announcement of the outbreak of what is now termed World War I. Some of us lads were footballing when we heard the news. It left us bewildered."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"The English team beat the Brazilian team in the international football tournament."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "football"?
Common synonyms include: ball, gridiron, soccer, administrative, afl, american football.
How do you use "football" in a sentence?
The English team beat the Brazilian team in the international football tournament.
How do you pronounce "football"?
Pronounced /ˈfʊtbɔːl/.
Etymology
From Middle English fotbal, footbal, equivalent to foot + ball, because the ball was primarily manipulated with the feet in early versions of the game (though some modern varieties involve more handling than kicking). The name for the briefcase is a play on “dropkick”, the code name of an early version of the nuclear war plan.