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Glite Dictionary
to charge down the field

to charge down the field

4.1
To move quickly and forcefully forward across a playing field in sports to try to score
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : correr hacia adelante
  • With only a minute left, he charged down the field, dodging defenders to reach the end zone.
  • a young player charged down the field

Examples

  • On a punt return, a couple of guys charge down the field toward where the punt is going.

    Blog text (15)

  • He does so with his bone giant and he's not going to be charging down the field with some Ushabti.

  • The player charged down the field, determined to score the winning goal.

  • As the game progressed, the team began to charge down the field with renewed energy after the halftime break.

Synonyms

to charge
vsto charge down the field
128 3.6

Move forward quickly, often to attack

is used in sports to advance across the playing field toward a goal
to rush
vsto charge down the field
  • Jargon
53 3.2

To carry the ball forward by running in football instead of passing

is about aggressive forward movement in sports, not limited to carrying the ball
to pelt down
vsto charge down the field
  • Informal
1 7.2

To run or move very quickly without control

describes purposeful controlled forward movement across a playing field to reach a goal
to thrust ahead
vsto charge down the field
5.7

To push forward through a crowd to get ahead

focuses on advancing across a playing field toward a goal, not on pushing others
to cannonball along
vsto charge down the field
  • Informal
7.1

To move very quickly in a straight, forceful way

is specific to aggressive forward play across a field aiming to reach a goal

Antonyms

to retreat
235 4.0

To move back from a place or plan to avoid danger

to halt
206 2.4

To stop moving or make something stop moving

How Fast

sprint
55 2.1
to charge down the field
  • Informal
4.1
to run
∞ 1.0
to jog
29 1.0
to walk
∞ 1.0
crawl
23 1.2

Surface Forms

charge down the field infinitive
charged down the field past
charged down the field past participle
charging down the field present participle
charges down the field third person singular

Morphology

charge + down + the + field

The meaning 'to move quickly and aggressively forward across a playing field' is directly derivable from 'charge' (rush forward forcefully) combined with the directional phrase 'down the field' indicating movement along/across the playing area. This is a regular motion verb + directional phrase composition found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Charge down the field comes from a clear sports image: players rush forward across the grass toward the goal. Here charge means to run forward with force and down the field means toward the other team's end, so it now means 'to move quickly and aggressively forward'.