often capitalized
: a football game in which play is continuous without time-outs or substitutions, interference and forward passing are not permitted, and kicking, dribbling, lateral passing, and tackling are featured
Examples of rugby in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Umpteen visits followed — a random mixture of rugby league matches and England football internationals, plus the odd final such as the 1988 Sherpa Van Trophy clash between my dad’s team, Burnley, and Wolverhampton Wanderers in front of 80,841 fans.
—
Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
Chen, Wales Bonner and Instagram head Adam Mosseri will be among the judges for Rings, joined by experts like director Spike Lee, rugby star Ilona Maher, makeup artist Pat McGrath, designer Marc Jacobs, actress Yara Shahidi, the artist KAWS and others.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2025
Barbie is commemorating International Day of the Girl with a campaign spotlighting global rugby stars, including American and Olympic medalist Ilona Maher, joined by Ellie Kildunne of the United Kingdom, Portia Woodman-Wickliffe of New Zealand and Nassira Konde of France.
—Julia Teti, Footwear News, 6 Oct. 2025
The Masters’ green jacket, the haka before New Zealand rugby matches, the seventh-inning stretch in baseball—these rituals are not just trimmings but the connective tissue of sport.
—Rick Burton, Sportico.com, 6 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rugby
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Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
Chen, Wales Bonner and Instagram head Adam Mosseri will be among the judges for Rings, joined by experts like director Spike Lee, rugby star Ilona Maher, makeup artist Pat McGrath, designer Marc Jacobs, actress Yara Shahidi, the artist KAWS and others.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2025
Barbie is commemorating International Day of the Girl with a campaign spotlighting global rugby stars, including American and Olympic medalist Ilona Maher, joined by Ellie Kildunne of the United Kingdom, Portia Woodman-Wickliffe of New Zealand and Nassira Konde of France.
—Julia Teti, Footwear News, 6 Oct. 2025
The Masters’ green jacket, the haka before New Zealand rugby matches, the seventh-inning stretch in baseball—these rituals are not just trimmings but the connective tissue of sport.
—Rick Burton, Sportico.com, 6 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rugby
Cite this Entry
“Rugby.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rugby. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
rugby
noun
rug·by
ˈrəg-bē 
often capitalized
: a football game between two teams in which play is continuous and the team that has the ball may run with it, kick it, or pass it sideways or backward but is not allowed to block or make forward passes
Etymology
named for Rugby School in England where the game was first played
Geographical Definition
Rugby
geographical name
Rug·by
ˈrəg-bē
town on the Avon River in Warwickshire, central England population 71,000
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