scrimmage

¹scrim·mage

noun \ˈskri-mij\

Definition of SCRIMMAGE

1

a : a minor battle : skirmish

b : a confused fight : scuffle

2

a : the interplay between two football teams that begins with the snap of the ball and continues until the ball is dead

b : practice play (as in football or basketball) between two squads

Examples of SCRIMMAGE

1. The first play from scrimmage netted them a touchdown.
2. <the two players got into a scrimmage off the court and got suspended>

Origin of SCRIMMAGE

Middle English scrymmage, alteration of skyrmissh skirmish

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to SCRIMMAGE

Synonyms

battle, clash, combat, conflict, contest, dustup, fracas, fray, hassle, scrap, fight, scrum, scuffle, skirmish, struggle, tussle

Related Words

pitched battle, rough-and-tumble; affray [chiefly British], battle royal, brawl, broil, donnybrook, free-for-all, melee (also mêlée), mix-up, ruckus, ruction; blows, fistfight, fisticuffs, grapple, handgrips, punch-out, punch-up [chiefly British], slugfest; confrontation, duel, face-off, joust; altercation, argle-bargle [chiefly British], argument, argy-bargy [chiefly British], contretemps, controversy, cross fire, disagreement, dispute, falling-out, kickup, misunderstanding, quarrel, row, spat, squabble, tangle, tiff, wrangle; catfight

Near Antonyms

truce

Other Field and Goal Sports Terms

crease, lateral, lax, overthrow, playbook, post, screen, scrum, secondary, ultimate

Rhymes with SCRIMMAGE

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²scrimmage

verb

scrim·magedscrim·mag·ing

Definition of SCRIMMAGE

intransitive verb

: to take part in a scrimmage

transitive verb

: to play a scrimmage against

— scrim·mag·er noun

Examples of SCRIMMAGE

1. Last weekend we scrimmaged against Bell High.

First Known Use of SCRIMMAGE

circa 1825

Other General Sports Terms

kegler, mulligan, rappel, turkey

Rhymes with SCRIMMAGE

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