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Glite Dictionary
🕵️ An indirect way 🏈 A wide run
end run

end run

1 6.5
An attempt to move the ball by running around the end of the line in American football
  • noun
  • /ˈɛnd rʌn/
  • Jargon
translation icon : carrera por el extremo
  • In American football, the end run is a strategic play used to advance the ball down the field while avoiding tackles.
  • make an end run

Examples

  • This makes an end run around the divisive opposition between "realist" and other modes of fiction (as per the critic James Wood), the point being not the nature of the representation but the quality and feel of the experience.

    Academic text (2010)

  • The quarterback executed an impressive end run to evade the defenders and gain extra yards.

  • During the game, he performed an end run around the defensive line, showcasing his speed and agility.

Synonyms

run
vsend run
  • US
211 5.5

A play where a player carries the ball instead of passing

focuses on advancing by moving around the line rather than any ball carrying attempt
rush
vsend run
  • Jargon
81 5.4

An attempt in football to move the ball forward by running

prefers advancing around the line of scrimmage rather than directly into defenders
sweep
vsend run
  • Jargon
7 6.6

A play where a runner runs around the line to gain yards

is specifically an attempt to advance by moving around the line of scrimmage
running play
vsend run
  • US
4 4.4

A play in American football where a player runs forward with the ball

is one specific tactic that advances by moving around the line of scrimmage

How Deceptive

double reverse
  • Specialized
1 8.2
reverse
  • Jargon
9 7.2
end run
  • Jargon
1 6.5
handoff
  • Jargon
8 3.9

Surface Forms

end run singular
end runs plural
endruns plural
endrun singular

Morphology

end + run

The phrase comes from American football where an 'end run' is a run around the end of the line to bypass defenders, so the sense of circumventing opposition is a metaphorical extension of 'end' (edge) + 'run' (move quickly). This relation gives some compositional clue (moving around an edge) but relies on cultural/sports knowledge and is not fully predictable for a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words, so it is partially transparent.

Etymology

The noun end run comes from American football, where a player would run around the end of the line of defenders to move the ball forward, so the phrase names that literal 'run around the side' play.