Meaning & use
football play
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Meanings
nouncountableAmericansport
A planned set of moves that a team practices and uses during one down in a game of American football.
Grammar: Count noun: the team ran a football play.
Patterns
- run a football play
- draw up a football play
The coach drew a new football play on the whiteboard.
The quarterback forgot the football play and threw the ball away.
Each football play lasts only a few seconds.
nouncountablesport
Any single action or moment during a football game, such as a pass, tackle, or run.
Grammar: Often used with 'big' or 'great' when describing a standout moment.
Patterns
- a great football play
That interception was the football play of the game.
Fans replayed the football play again and again online.
Word forms
| plural | football plays |
|---|
Common combinations
- run a football play
- The offense ran a football play on third down.
- trick football play
- The team tried a trick football play.
- designed football play
- The coach designed a football play for the last seconds.
- football play book
- Each player studied the football play book.
- game-winning football play
- The kick was the game-winning football play.
Synonyms and how they differ
- play
- Play is the usual short form and is understood in a football context without the word football.
- formation
- A formation is how players line up, not the action that follows.
- maneuver
- A maneuver is a general planned move and is not tied to football.
- down
- A down is one chance to advance the ball, while the play is what the team does in it.
Word family
- playbook noun
- a book of a team's plays
- playmaker noun
- a player who creates scoring chances
- play-calling noun
- choosing which play the team will run
- footballer noun
- a person who plays football
Commonly confused: football play or soccer play?
football play vs soccer play
In American English, football means the sport with helmets, so football play differs from play in soccer.
Practice
Before the snap, the quarterback shouted the ____ so everyone knew where to run.
Choose one answer.
A football play is the planned set of moves called before the snap. Half-time and stadium cannot be shouted to tell players where to run.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “football play”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.