field goal

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 Chiefs missed a last-second field goal and the Colts were headed to the AFC championship game with a 10-7 win. — Nat Newell, The Indianapolis Star, "Ranking every Indianapolis Colts team: Nos. 1-5, Peyton Manning's best," 12 July 2020 The Manning era would end — even if no one knew it at the time — with a 17-16 loss to the New York Jets when Nick Folk kicked a field goal as time expired. — Nat Newell, The Indianapolis Star, "Ranking every Indianapolis Colts team: Nos. 11-15, the promise of Andrew Luck and Eric Dickerson," 10 July 2020 Martin averaged 11 points, 7.5 rebounds 1.1 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.5 blocks per game, finishing his career as the program's leader in field goal percentage (.586) and blocks (292). — Keith Jenkins, The Enquirer, "Opinion: UC Bearcats beat writer Keith Jenkins' top-5 men's hoops players of all time," 6 July 2020 And of course, there was Rocky Block, the 2009 heartstopper that ended when Terrence Cody stuffed a last-second field goal for a 12-10 win. — Michael Casagrande | Mcasagrande@al.com, al, "Alot’s happened in the 5,000 days since Alabama last lost to Tennessee," 29 June 2020 But even the elaborate board didn’t help late in the 1956 Rose bowl, when Michigan State players rushed onto the field as the Spartans attempted a game-winning field goal against UCLA. — Stephen Borelli, USA TODAY, "Brotherly love for a Yankees icon: Remembering Larry Allen," 2 July 2020 Boermeester, then 22, was a member of the USC football team, who kicked the game-winning field goal for USC at the 2017 Rose Bowl. — Fox News, "Expelled USC football player scores legal victory in Title IX case, vows to continue fighting 'male bias' that dashed his NFL hopes," 25 June 2020 According to the tape, yes. Brkic posted a viral video on social media Tuesday that featured Brkic drilling a 72-yard field goal. — Dallas News, "Watch: Oklahoma kicker Gabe Brkic drills 72-yard field goal," 24 June 2020 Alex was the sophomore holder as senior Evan nailed a 60-yard field goal and a new school record against Brewer in 2017. — Dennis Victory, al, "Recruiting news, coaching changes, golf highlight high school sports roundup," 20 June 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.

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Last Updated

29 Jul 2020

Cite this Entry

“Field goal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/field%20goal. Accessed 9 Aug. 2020.

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