Meaning & use

offside

adjective·Everyday

In sports such as soccer or hockey, positioned illegally beyond a certain line relative to opponents and the ball.

See it in a sentence

The referee ruled the striker offside just before he tapped the ball into the net.

Replays showed the winger was clearly offside when the pass was made.

A note on using this word

Offside rules vary by sport but generally exist to stop players from waiting near the opponent's goal for an easy pass.

Words with a similar meaning

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Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

onside

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