field goal

noun

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

Kicker Brandon McManus — who made 20-of-21 field goal attempts a year ago — missed a 48-yarder on the final play of the first half. —Rob Reischel, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025

Washington got on the board with a 51-yard field goal from Matt Gay. —Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 12 Sep. 2025

Wide receivers Braelon Solomon and Taysen Rutschman added 17- and 2-yard touchdown receptions, respectively, and kicker Grady Matcham added 44- and 47-yard field goals in the first half; in Week 2, Matcham hit a 60-yard field goal. —Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Sep. 2025

The only problem is the offense was abysmal, mustering just two field goals. —Noah Camras, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1883, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for field goal

• bankroll
• bedroll
• borehole
• cajole
• catchpole
• charcoal
• condole
• control
• dipole
• downhole
• enroll
• extol

Kids Definition

field goal

noun

1

: a score of three points in football made by kicking the ball over the crossbar during ordinary play

2

: basket sense 3b