What does "score" mean?
The total number of goals, points, runs, etc. earned by a participant in a game.
Score
/skɔː/ intj, noun, verb, slang
intj, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The total number of goals, points, runs, etc. earned by a participant in a game.
- Grammar: score is listed as intj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: grade, mark, a grade, ability degree.
- Useful contrasts: ungraded, fail to score, failure.
- Usage evidence: What was the score at halftime?
How to use "score"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "score" 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 "score" 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 "score" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "score" 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 "score" is acting as intj, 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 "grade" 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 "score", 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 The total number of goals, points, runs, etc. earned by a participant in a game.
"The player with the highest score is the winner."
- 2 a seduction culminating in sexual intercourse wordnet
- 3 The number of points accrued by each of the participants in a game, expressed as a ratio or a series of numbers.
"The score is 8-1 even though it's not even half-time!"
- 4 the act of scoring in a game or sport wordnet
- 5 The performance of an individual or group on an examination or test, expressed by a number, letter, or other symbol; a grade.
"The test scores for this class were high."
Show 29 more definitions
- 6 a number or letter indicating quality (especially of a student's performance) wordnet
- 7 Twenty (20).
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."
- 8 the facts about an actual situation wordnet
- 9 Twenty (20).; A distance of twenty yards, in ancient archery and gunnery.
"At Markes full fortie score they vs'd to Prick and Roue."
- 10 a written form of a musical composition; parts for different instruments appear on separate staves on large pages wordnet
- 11 Twenty (20).; A weight of twenty pounds.
- 12 a resentment strong enough to justify retaliation wordnet
- 13 Twenty (20).; A period of twenty years.
- 14 a set of twenty members wordnet
- 15 Twenty (20).; Twenty pounds sterling. British, slang
"DEVLIN:You know the apple and core. Head might cost you a score, or more if you want a meat show on all fours."
- 16 grounds wordnet
- 17 A great deal; many, several. in-plural, often
"Some words have scores of meanings."
- 18 a number that expresses the accomplishment of a team or an individual in a game or contest wordnet
- 19 An amount of money won in gambling; winnings.
"Use a few “introductory plays” to become known to a casino before you go for a big score."
- 20 a slight surface cut (especially a notch that is made to keep a tally) wordnet
- 21 The written form of a musical composition showing all instrumental and vocal parts.
- 22 an amount due (as at a restaurant or bar) wordnet
- 23 The music of a movie or play.
"Even without hovering drones, a lurking assassin, a thumping score and a denouement, the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a rogue spy on the run, could be straight out of the cinema. But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee."
- 24 A subject.
"Well, although we haven't discussed the views of all those who make precise reckonings of being and not [being], we've done enough on that score."
- 25 An account; a reason; a motive; a sake; a behalf.
"But left the trade, as many more / Have lately done on the same score."
- 26 A notch or incision; especially, one that is made as a tally mark; hence, a mark, or line, made for the purpose of account.
"Whereas, before, our forefathers had no other books but the score and the tally, thou hast caused printing to be used."
- 27 An account or reckoning; account of dues; bill; debt.
"He parted well, and paid his score."
- 28 A criminal act, especially:; A robbery. US, slang
"Let's pull a score!"
- 29 A criminal act, especially:; A bribe paid to a police officer. US, slang
- 30 A criminal act, especially:; An illegal sale, especially of drugs. US, slang
"He made a big score."
- 31 A criminal act, especially:; A prostitute's client. US, slang
- 32 A sexual conquest. slang, vulgar
"Ah, who gives a shit? The only score I'm interested in is the one I might make if some foxy chicks start pilin' outta there."
- 33 In the Lowestoft area, a narrow pathway running down a cliff to the beach. UK, regional
"Above the harbour, steeply up the hill, run The Bolts, narrow stepped passages, equivalent of The Scores of Lowestoft and The Rows of Great Yarmouth."
- 34 A document which systematically lists differences among compiled manuscripts of a source text.
"Robson counted 92 exemplars of Gilgamesh and Huwawa A and 59 of Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld (“Tablet House,” 54). Since that time, several joins have reduced the number of distinct copies, so that Delnero’s score for Gilgamesh and Huwawa A now includes 85 total, mostly of the Type III extract category (Variation in Sumerian Literary Compositions: A Case Study Based on the Decad, University of Pennsylvania Ph.D., 2006)."
Verb
- 1 To cut a notch or a groove in a surface. transitive
"A very neat old woman, still in her good outdoor coat and best beehive hat, was sitting at a polished mahogany table on whose surface there were several scored scratches so deep that a triangular piece of the veneer had come cleanly away,[…]."
- 2 assign a grade or rank to, according to one's evaluation wordnet
- 3 To record the tally of points for a game, a match, or an examination. intransitive
- 4 make underscoring marks wordnet
- 5 To obtain something desired. ambitransitive
""Of course it would be hypocritical for me to pretend that I regret what Abraham did. After all, I've scored by it.""
Show 14 more definitions
- 6 gain points in a game wordnet
- 7 To obtain something desired.; To earn points in a game. ambitransitive
"It is unusual for a team to score a hundred goals in one game."
- 8 get a certain number or letter indicating quality or performance wordnet
- 9 To obtain something desired.; To achieve academic credit on a test, quiz, homework, assignment, or course. ambitransitive
"No, Butthead, that's my point. You didn't score. You got a zero."
- 10 make small marks into the surface of wordnet
- 11 To obtain something desired.; To win money by gambling. ambitransitive
"[…] he scored big by hitting the jack pot at the Bellagio (he won $7,000). The next day, he won $15,000 on the nickel machines at the Palm Casino!"
- 12 induce to have sex wordnet
- 13 To obtain something desired.; To acquire or gain. ambitransitive, slang
"I scored some drugs last night."
- 14 write a musical score for wordnet
- 15 To obtain something desired.; To extract a bribe. US, ambitransitive, slang
- 16 To obtain something desired.; To obtain a sexual favor. ambitransitive, slang, vulgar
"Chris finally scored with Pat last week."
- 17 To rate; to evaluate the quality of. transitive
"Critics scored the game 92%."
- 18 To provide (a film, etc.) with a musical score. transitive
"Godfather II is nothing like ready. It is not yet scored, and thus not mixed. There remain additional shooting, looping, editing."
- 19 To return (a horse and rider) to the starting-point repeatedly, until a fair start is achieved. ambitransitive
"[…] and the scoring for a start by these "inferior" horses would kill a thoroughbred. As an instance, in the 2:27 race at Cleveland, last summer, twelve horses scored seventeen times before they got a fair start."
Intj
- 1 An acknowledgement of success. US, slang
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"What was the score at halftime?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "score"?
Common synonyms include: grade, mark, a grade, ability degree, absolute music, accompaniment.
How do you use "score" in a sentence?
What was the score at halftime?
How do you pronounce "score"?
Pronounced /skɔː/.
Etymology
From Middle English score, skore, schore, from Old English scoru (“notch; tally; score”), from Old Norse skor, from Proto-Germanic *skurō (“incision; tear; rift”), which is related to *skeraną (“to cut”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“cut”). Cognate with Icelandic skora, Swedish skåra, Danish skår. Related to shear. For the sense “twenty”: The mark on a tally made by drovers for every twenty beasts passing through a tollgate.