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Glite Dictionary
maiden over

maiden over

9.8
One set of six balls in cricket when the batting team scores no runs
  • noun
  • /ˈmeɪdən ˈəʊvə/
  • UK
translation icon : over en blanco
  • The bowler delivered a maiden over to start the match.

Examples

  • The bowler delivered a brilliant maiden over, preventing the batsmen from scoring any runs.

  • Her accuracy earned her three maiden overs in the first session.

  • It's rare to see so many maiden overs in a T20 game.

  • The bowler delivered a brilliant maiden over at the start of the match.

  • He achieved his first maiden over in the tournament.

  • It's impressive that she managed to bowl two consecutive maiden overs during the match.

  • After a tense start, the bowler finally succeeded in bowling a maiden over without conceding any runs.

Synonyms

maiden
vsmaiden over
  • UK
12 8.7

An over in cricket when the batting team scores no runs

is the two-word form for the same over

Surface Forms

maiden over singular
maiden overs plural

Morphology

maiden + over

The phrase is compositionally obvious only if the learner already knows the cricket-specific sense of 'maiden' (an over with no runs); in that case 'maiden' + 'over' is essentially redundant and the meaning is transparent. However, an average B1 learner who only knows the general meaning of 'maiden' (e.g. unmarried woman) would not be able to derive the cricket sense, so the expression is not fully predictable without domain-specific knowledge.

Etymology

The noun maiden over comes from the old word maiden, which meant 'untouched'. When a bowler bowls six balls and the batters score 'no runs', the over is like 'untouched', so it became known as a maiden over.