football play
1
2.9
- noun
- /ˈfʊtbɔl pleɪ/
- US
:
jugada de fútbol
- In high school, we practiced our football plays every afternoon to prepare for the championships.
- a college football play
Examples
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Yeah, my football play, My my highlight.
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The average football play lasts 5 seconds.
Blog text (25) -
Why don't you practice your football plays?
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"But he's a football player and he just makes football plays over and over again every week.
Blog text (24) -
"But our plan is we want to possess the ball as much as we can, score as many points as we can, but not to the point we're so obsessed with running 80 football plays that we could have.
Blog text (15) -
A run where he hurdled a Boise State defender early in the season was the college football play of the year to that point.
Blog text (28) -
LEIGH ANNE: There's a moment of orderly silence before a football play begins.
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The coach designed a trick football play to surprise the opposing team during the game.
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During the game, fans erupted with excitement after witnessing an incredible football play that led to a touchdown.
Synonyms
685
1.2
A player's turn or move in a game
211
5.5
A play where a player carries the ball instead of passing
84
2.8
A play in American football when a player throws the ball forward to a teammate
81
5.4
An attempt in football to move the ball forward by running
52
3.0
Points a team gets by kicking the ball between the other team's goalposts
35
5.0
A kick where the ball is dropped from the hands and kicked before it hits the ground
4
4.4
A play in American football where a player runs forward with the ball
3
6.1
A play where the quarterback fakes a pass then gives the ball to the runner
1
4.4
A play in American football where a player throws the ball forward to a teammate
1
6.2
A football play where the quarterback fakes a pass then hands the ball to a running back
A sideways pass by the quarterback to a teammate, often a running back
A way a player keeps the ball to let teammates move forward
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: it denotes a 'play' (a tactical action or maneuver) that occurs within the sport 'football.' This sport+action compound follows a transparent, cross-linguistic naming pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the intended sense.
Etymology
Football play comes from the idea of a short, planned play like a scene in a show: coaches draw a plan and players perform it together. That's why football play means a planned action on the field to 'move the ball' or 'score'.