football

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A sport played on foot in which teams attempt to get a ball into a goal or zone defended by the other team.

   Roman and medieval football matches were more violent than any modern type of football.

2. 2
   noun

   The ball used in any game called "football".

   The player kicked the football.

3. 3
   noun

   Association football, also called soccer: a game in which two teams each contend to get a round ball into the other team's goal primarily by kicking the ball.

   Each team scored three goals when they played football.

4. 4
   noun

   American football: a game played on a field 100 yards long and 53 1/3 yards wide in which two teams of 11 players attempt to get an ovoid ball to the end of each other's territory.

   Each team scored two touchdowns when they played football.

5. 5
   noun

   Canadian football: a game played on a field 110 yards long and 65 yards wide in which two teams of 12 players attempt to get an ovoid ball to the end of each other's territory.

   They played football in the snow.

6. 6
   noun

   Australian rules football.

   The weekend after AFL football chief Simon Lethlean made it clear players who jumper punched or punched opponents in the stomach would most likely be suspended, Jones was charged with striking Hawthorn’s Luke Breust.

7. 7
   noun

   Any form of rugby.

   There's another game of football and there's a gold team and Mum and Dad are both on it!

8. 8
   noun

   Practice of these particular games, or techniques used in them.

   Both teams played open, attacking football and in the first thirty minutes, the referee barely blew his whistle.

Etymology

From Middle English fotbal, footbal, equivalent to foot + ball, because the ball was primarily manipulated with the feet in early versions of the game (though some modern varieties involve more handling than kicking). The name for the briefcase is a play on “dropkick”, the code name of an early version of the nuclear war plan.