passing play
1
4.4
- noun
- /ˈpæsɪŋ pleɪ/
- Specialized
:
pase
- The team's strategy included a mix of running and passing plays to keep the defense guessing.
Examples
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In the game last night, the quarterback executed a brilliant passing play that resulted in a touchdown.
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The Rams gained an average of just 3.75 yards on passing plays.
Blog text (1) -
While Price was only sacked three times, it was mostly because he ran for his life on every passing play.
Blog text (2) -
But Wisconsin runs most of their passing plays out of an empty backfield.
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In the red zone, Ponder tripped on his drop back, and then a no-gain passing play set up a third and goal from the ten.
Blog text (4) -
He's killed Southern Cal as of late by using the four-verticals passing play once the Trojans' safeties have started flying up to stuff the run.
Blog text (34) -
And, on the first play of the next drive, Josh Pettus stripped KSU receiver Matthew Hurdle on a short passing play.
Blog text (31) -
Cam Newton repeatedly hit big passing plays in the first game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and they only barely squeaked out a win.
Blog text (21) -
After being torched by Detroit quarterback Matt Stafford last week, Seattle made Ponder a non-factor and didn't allow a passing play longer than 14 yards.
Blog text (27) -
The coach emphasized the importance of timing and accuracy during passing plays in practice.
Synonyms
359
1.0
A throw or kick of the ball to a teammate
84
2.8
A play in American football when a player throws the ball forward to a teammate
2
3.8
A throw toward the opponent's end to move the ball downfield
A movement of the ball by a player to a teammate
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'passing' refers to throwing the ball forward and 'play' refers to a sports action, so a learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a play involving a pass. This is a conventional sports compound with transparent semantics and parallels in other languages, so it should be immediately understandable to B1 learners.
Etymology
Passing play comes from the simple picture on the football field: during a planned play one player passes the ball forward so a teammate can catch it. That's why it means 'a play in which the ball is thrown to a teammate'.