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Glite Dictionary
rugger

rugger

1 9.3
A team game that people play with an oval ball, often at school
  • noun
  • /ˈrʌɡə/
  • UK
translation icon : rugby
  • Lord knows, he used to play a good game of rugger.

Examples

  • He played rugger for one season at college.

    Forever Young (2024)

  • We have two types, rugger and soccer.

    A Yank at Oxford (1938)

  • Quite a good fellow, he used to play a good game of rugger.

    Waterloo Bridge (1931)

  • He wondered if she liked rugger.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • They said I plainly thought for myself and was exactly what their rugger team needed.

    The History Boys (2006)

  • Rugby isn't a hugely popular sport in the area, but when a fellow rugger is going through a hard time, the camaraderie is there.

    Blog text (25)

  • He played rugger for his school's team every Saturday.

  • After school, the students gathered to play a game of rugger on the field.

  • During the meeting, they discussed the upcoming rugger tournament in detail.

Synonyms

rugby
vsrugger
55 2.7

A team game where two teams carry and pass an oval ball

is an informal British name used especially in schools
rugby football
vsrugger
1 3.2

A team game with an oval ball where players run, pass, and kick to score points

is an informal British name used especially in schools

Compounds

rugger bugger
  • Slang
9.9

A person who loves playing or watching rugby and goes to many games

Surface Forms

rugger singular
ruggers plural

Morphology

rugger = rugby (semi-transparent) = rugby + er

The word is recognizably built on 'rugby' with a jocular '-er' ending, but the resulting slang term for the game is conventional rather than fully compositional.

Etymology

Rugger comes from rugby plus the little ending -er, a friendly British way to make a short name for a sport or the person who plays it. So rugger means 'rugby football', especially the form played at schools and clubs.