field goal

noun

Definition of field goal

1 : a score of three points in football made by drop-kicking or placekicking the ball over the crossbar from ordinary play

2 : a goal in basketball made while the ball is in play

Examples of field goal in a Sentence

He kicked a 20-yard field goal.

Recent Examples on the Web

And Tyler Lockett beat Munnerlyn for the long gain that set up the winning field goal. — Bob Condotta, The Seattle Times, "The Final Word: Bob Condotta reviews what went right in the Seahawks’ big win over the Panthers," 27 Nov. 2018 On January 2, 2017, Matt Boermeester kicked the game-winning field goal for the University of Southern California in the Rose Bowl as time expired, sealing a remarkable 52-49 victory over Penn State. — Caleb Parke, Fox News, "DeVos to roll back Obama-era Title IX regulations deemed unfair to the 'accused'," 31 Aug. 2018 Kicking a game-winning field goal is an adrenaline rush for Dan Bailey, but those aren’t everyday occurrences. — Drew Davison, star-telegram, "Taking flight: Cowboys' kicker Dan Bailey explains his passion for flying," 18 June 2018 Without any timeouts, quarterback Joel Stave took a knee with the intent of setting up a game-winning field goal deep in Wisconsin territory. — Jr Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Five other times when Wisconsin sports teams have been hurt by iffy (or outright bad) officiating," 23 May 2018 MacGinnis kicked two game-winning field goals in the final minute of regulation as a junior. — Jon Hale, The Courier-Journal, "Who is Kentucky football's best chance for a 2018 NFL draft selection?," 25 Apr. 2018 Remember, when the Saints last played the Giants in New Jersey, Crawley gave up a deep pass to Victor Cruz that set up the Giants’ game-winning field goal. — Josh Katzenstein, NOLA.com, "What to watch in each New Orleans Saints game in 2018," 19 Apr. 2018 Santos' most memorable call is of Adam Vinatieri's game-winning field goal in Super Bowl XXXVI, which gave the Patriots their first of what would be five Super Bowls won under coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady. — Jim Reineking, USA TODAY, "Gil Santos, longtime radio voice of the New England Patriots, passes away at 80," 19 Apr. 2018 The Chargers also did move it some on their second drive of the second half, the one that ended in the missed field goal. — Seattle Times Sports Staff, The Seattle Times, "Seahawks live chat rewind: Bruce Irvin to the Seahawks? Dissecting the loss to the Chargers," 6 Nov. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'field goal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.