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 But the Seminoles clamped down defensively late Friday, holding the Tar Heels to one field goal over the final 4 minutes. — Aaron Beard, orlandosentinel.com, 13 Mar. 2021 Chelsea held Huffman to one field goal in the first quarter in jumping out to a 13-3 lead. — al, 23 Feb. 2021 Lavonte David broke up a third-down pass to Kelce on the opening drive of the second half to limit KC to another field goal before Mahomes' desperation pass to Hill on third down on the next drive got deflected for an interception. — Josh Dubow, Star Tribune, 7 Feb. 2021 Instead, Ohio State was held to a field goal on that possession, and Alabama scored two more touchdowns before halftime. — Doug Lesmerises, cleveland, 11 Jan. 2021 The entire performance was aided by a Cowboys defense that allowed touchdowns on consecutive defensive snaps in the first quarter before containing the Eagles to just a field goal in the second quarter and a shutout after halftime. — Jori Epstein, USA TODAY, 28 Dec. 2020 Then, a fumble on the first St. Charles possession gave Lafayette Christian the ball at the St. Charles 12, which led to a field goal. — Chris Dabe, NOLA.com, 28 Dec. 2020 Lineman Aaron Donald has a league-best 121/2 sacks for a unit that limited the Patriots to a field goal. — Gary Klein Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2020 But Engelstad was encouraged by the Mountaineers’ defensive effort, which limited Saint Francis to one field goal over a 5:31 stretch in the first half and then another lone basket over a 6:35 span in the second. — Edward Lee, baltimoresun.com, 8 Dec. 2020

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.