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

But KaVontae Turpin came flying in and recovered the ball, which allowed another Aubrey field goal instead of a pivotal turnover. —Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 28 Nov. 2025

Reagan Tubbs got the Falcons their only points with a 27-yard field goal early in the third quarter as the offense mustered just 161 total yards and turned the ball over twice. —Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2025

Not wanting to settle for another field goal, LaFleur had Love look for Dontayvion Wicks down the right sideline. —CBS News, 28 Nov. 2025

At one point, Indiana went nearly eight minutes without a field goal, and Siakam played for nearly the whole stretch. —Eric Koreen, New York Times, 27 Nov. 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