Meaning & use
scored
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“scored” is a form of “score”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitivesport
Past tense of score: won a point, goal or run for a team or player in a game.
Grammar: Can take an object (scored a goal) or stand alone (she scored twice).
Patterns
- score a goal
- score against someone
She scored in the last minute of the match.
The striker scored twice against the champions.
Nobody scored in the first half.
verbtransitive
Past tense of score: got a particular mark or result in a test, exam or assessment.
Grammar: Takes a number or object: he scored 90 percent.
Patterns
- score something on something
- score highly
He scored 92 percent on the science test.
She scored highest in her class.
They scored well above the national average.
verbtransitive
Past tense of score: cut a line or scratch into a surface, or wrote out the music for an arrangement.
Grammar: Needs an object: she scored the dough.
Patterns
- score something with something
The baker scored the top of the loaf before baking.
He scored a deep line in the wood with a knife.
The composer scored the film for a full orchestra.
Word forms
| base form | score |
|---|---|
| third person singular | scores |
| present participle | scoring |
Common combinations
- scored a goal
- He scored a goal from thirty meters out.
- scored highly
- The students scored highly on the reading test.
- scored a point
- She scored a point with her clever answer.
- scored the winning run
- Marta scored the winning run in the ninth inning.
- scored the film
- A famous musician scored the film.
Synonyms and how they differ
- netted
- Netted is a more informal, mostly sports word for scoring a goal, while scored covers any kind of point.
- earned
- Earned suggests a mark or points that came through effort, but scored is the neutral word for results.
- achieved
- Achieved is broader and can describe any success, not only marks or points.
- notched
- Notched is informal and suggests adding a point to a running total.
Opposites
Word family
- score noun
- the number of points won
- scorer noun
- a person who scores
- scoreboard noun
- a board showing the score
- scoreline noun
- the final result of a match
Commonly confused: scored or scoured? scored or scorred?
scored vs scoured
Scoured means cleaned by hard rubbing or searched thoroughly, and is not about points or marks.
scored vs scorred
This is a common misspelling; the correct form is scored.
Practice
The winger ____ the only goal of the match in the final minute.
Choose one answer.
Scored is the past tense of score a goal. Scoured and scorched look similar but mean cleaned or burned, and scolded means told off.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “scored”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.