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Meaning & use

soccer derby

noun·EverydaysportAmerican

Last updated

UK/ˈsɒkə ˈdɑːbi/
US/ˈsɑːkɚ ˈdɝːbi/

Meanings

  1. nouncountablesportAmerican

    A soccer match between two teams from the same city or region, usually with a strong rivalry between their fans.

    Grammar: Countable: the soccer derby, three soccer derbies.

    Patterns

    • a soccer derby between X and Y
    • win the soccer derby

    The city comes to a stop on the day of the soccer derby.

    Our team lost the soccer derby, and my neighbor will not stop teasing me.

    Tickets for the soccer derby sold out within ten minutes.

  2. nouncountablesport

    Any especially intense soccer game between long-standing rivals, even if they are not from the same town.

    Grammar: Looser use, mostly in the media, often with a nickname for the match.

    Patterns

    • the soccer derby of the season

    Commentators called it the biggest soccer derby in the country.

    The soccer derby between the two clubs always goes to the last minute.

    Police planned extra patrols for the soccer derby.

Word forms

pluralsoccer derbies

Common combinations

heated soccer derby
It was a heated soccer derby with three yellow cards.
win the soccer derby
They won the soccer derby for the first time in years.
city soccer derby
The city soccer derby fills the stadium every year.
soccer derby day
Soccer derby day in town means loud streets and painted faces.
attend a soccer derby
We attended a soccer derby on our trip to Milan.

Synonyms and how they differ

local derby
Local derby is the standard British phrase, and it works for any sport, not just soccer.
rivalry match
A rivalry match covers any rivals, whether or not they share a city, while a derby normally implies close geography.
clasico
Clasico, borrowed from Spanish, refers to a famous fixture between top rivals, so it is narrower and more prestigious.

Word family

derby noun
a sports match between local rivals
soccer noun
the game of association football
rivalry noun
long competition between two teams

Commonly confused: soccer derby or Derby?

soccer derby vs Derby

Derby is also an English city and a famous horse race, so check the context.

Practice

What makes a match a soccer derby?

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