What does "goalkeeper" mean?

A designated player that attempts to prevent the opposing team from scoring by protecting a goal.

What is a synonym for "goalkeeper"?

Common synonyms include: goalie, goaltender, netkeeper, netminder, advance guard, coast guard.

Pronounced //ˈɡɔːl.kiːpɚ//.

//ˈɡɔːl.kiːpɚ// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A designated player that attempts to prevent the opposing team from scoring by protecting a goal.
"Krohn-Dehli took advantage of a lucky bounce of the ball after a battling run on the left flank by Simon Poulsen, dummied two defenders and shot low through goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg's legs after 24 minutes."
2
the defensive position on an ice hockey or soccer or lacrosse team who stands in front of the goal and tries to prevent opposing players from scoring wordnet
3
the soccer or hockey player assigned to protect the goal wordnet

"Iker Casillas is the best goalkeeper in the world."

From goal + keeper.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.