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place-kicker

place-kicker

2 6.3
A player in American football who kicks the ball from the ground for field goals or extra points
  • noun
  • /ˈpleɪsˌkɪkər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : pateador
  • After a successful season, the team celebrated their place kicker, who had the most accurate field goal attempts.
  • punter and place-kicker

Examples

  • Freshman place-kicker Marshall Morgan kicked a career-long field goal of 52 yards.

    Blog text (26)
  • Devlin, Devlin, Devlin, Hal Devlin, the place kicker Devlin?

  • I represent that place kicker over there.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Veteran Billy Cundiff is the Redskins' place kicker.

    Blog text (9)
  • Their place kicker kicked the last one because it was so short, but the reporter from Tacoma says that they cut their main kicker.

    Blog text (25)
  • Michigan has a good place-kicker, too, in Brendan Gibbons, who has missed just twice in 16 field-goal attempts.

    Blog text (25)
  • And the broncos are still denying rumors that place-kicker, Hal Devlin, is gonna be traded.

  • Titley (1980) also reported a case study involving a place kicker who, after being trained in the VMBR procedure, kicked consistently throughout the remainder of the season and set an NCAA record by kicking a 63-yard field goal.

    Academic text (1991)
  • The coach decided to trust the new place kicker to make the critical kick during the championship game.

  • During the practice session, the place kicker showcased his skills by making multiple long-range field goals.

Synonyms

kicker
vsplace-kicker
  • US
36 3.3

A player who mainly kicks the ball in games like American football or soccer

refers only to the specialist who kicks from a stationary spot in football
placekicker
vsplace-kicker
  • US
2 7.5

A player who kicks the ball from a fixed spot to score field goals or extra points

is identical in meaning but shown with a hyphenated or separated form

Surface Forms

place-kicker singular
place-kickers plural

Morphology

place-kicker = place kick (semi-transparent) = place + kick + er

The agent noun is built from the football compound 'place kick' plus '-er', but the specialized sports term may not be obvious to all learners.

Etymology

Place-kicker comes from the two simple words place ('a fixed spot') and kicker ('someone who kicks'). It names the player whose job is to kick the ball from that set spot, like for field goals and extra points.