Meaning & use
endzone
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Meanings
nouncountableAmericansport
In American football, the marked area at each end of the field where a team scores a touchdown by carrying or catching the ball.
Grammar: Countable: use 'an endzone' or 'the endzone'; the plural is 'endzones', though it is rarely needed.
Patterns
- in the endzone
- into the endzone
- the back of the endzone
The receiver caught the ball in the endzone for a touchdown.
The running back ran into the endzone from five yards out.
The pass was ruled incomplete because the player stepped out of the back of the endzone.
nouncountablesport
A similar scoring area at the end of the field in other sports such as rugby or ultimate frisbee.
Grammar: Also countable; in rugby the usual term is 'try zone' or 'in-goal area', but 'endzone' is sometimes used informally.
Patterns
- in the endzone
- reach the endzone
In ultimate frisbee, players must catch the disc in the endzone to score.
The rugby commentator described the area as the endzone, though the official term is the in-goal area.
Word forms
| plural | endzones |
|---|
Common combinations
- in the endzone
- He was standing in the endzone when he caught the pass.
- into the endzone
- The quarterback threw the ball into the endzone.
- back of the endzone
- She made a diving catch at the back of the endzone.
- reach the endzone
- The team struggled to reach the endzone all game.
- endzone dance
- The player celebrated with a short endzone dance.
Synonyms and how they differ
- try zone
- Used mainly in rugby, not American football; 'endzone' is the standard term in American football.
- in-goal area
- The official rugby term; 'endzone' is an informal alternative in that sport.
Commonly confused: endzone or end zone?
endzone vs end zone
This is the same thing, but it is usually written as two words in official football rules and in most newspapers.
Practice
In American football, where does a player need to take the ball to score a touchdown?
Choose one answer.
'Into the endzone' is correct because the endzone is the scoring area. 'Into the goalpost' is wrong because the goalposts are uprights for kicking, not a scoring area you run into. 'Into the sideline' and 'into the backfield' are other parts of the field, not scoring areas.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “endzone”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.