Meaning & use
friendly match
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A game or match that is not part of an official competition and is played for practice or enjoyment.
Grammar: Countable: 'a friendly match', 'two friendly matches'.
Patterns
- play a friendly match
- a friendly match against someone
- a friendly match between teams
The two national teams will play a friendly match next month.
We lost the friendly match but learned a lot.
A friendly match is a good way to test new players.
Word forms
| plural | friendly matches |
|---|
Common combinations
- play a friendly match
- They played a friendly match to prepare for the season.
- friendly match against
- The club arranged a friendly match against a local team.
- international friendly
- The international friendly ended in a draw.
Synonyms and how they differ
- exhibition game
- This is the usual American term for a game played for entertainment rather than competition.
- practice game
- This emphasizes the purpose of training, while 'friendly match' emphasizes the non-competitive nature.
Opposites
Word family
- friendly noun
- In British English, a game that is not part of a competition; short for 'friendly match'.
Commonly confused: friendly match or friendly?
friendly match vs friendly
As an adjective, 'friendly' means kind or pleasant. As a noun (British), it means a non-competitive match.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'friendly match' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A friendly match is not part of an official competition, so it does not affect league points or championships. Options A, C, and D wrongly suggest it is part of a competitive tournament.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “friendly match”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.