Definition

Noun: A competitive team sport played on a rectangular field between two teams of eleven players each. The primary objective is to advance an oval-shaped ball into the opponent's end zone by running with it or passing it, thereby scoring points. The game is characterized by a series of discrete segments called "plays" or "downs."

Usage

• The term refers specifically to the organized sport, its rules, and a single instance of it being played.
• It is used to describe the event, the activity, or the concept of the sport itself.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The Super Bowl is the most-watched American football game of the year.
  • He has never attended a live American football game.
  • Understanding the rules of an American football game can be complex for new viewers.

Advanced Usage

• "a game of American football": An alternative phrasing with the same meaning.
  • They went to the park for a casual game of American football.

Variants and Related Words

• Football (noun): In the United States and Canada, this is a common shorthand term for American football, though it refers to different sports (like soccer) in other parts of the world.
• Gridiron football (noun): Another formal name for the sport, referencing the field's marked lines.
• Play (noun): A single tactical segment within an American football game where the ball is put into action.
• Down (noun): One of a series of plays during which a team must advance the ball a specific distance.

Synonyms

• Gridiron contest: A more formal or literary synonym.
• Football match: Less common in American English, where "game" is standard.

Related Phrases

• Kick off (phrasal verb): To start the game or to restart play after a score by kicking the ball from the center of the field.
  • The home team will kick off to begin the second half.
• Call a play (verb phrase): For the quarterback to announce or signal which pre-planned tactic the team will execute.
  • The quarterback has only a few seconds to call a play at the line of scrimmage.

Related Idioms

• Monday morning quarterback: A person who criticizes or analyzes the decisions made in an American football game after it is over, with the benefit of hindsight.
  • It's easy to be a Monday morning quarterback, but calling plays in real time is very difficult.
• Move the goalposts: To change the rules or criteria for something while it is still in progress. This idiom originates from goal-based sports like football.
  • Every time I meet the target, they move the goalposts and ask for more.

Noun

1. a game played by two teams of 11 players on a rectangular field 100 yards long; teams try to get possession of the ball and advance it across the opponents goal line in a series of (running or passing) plays