free kick

noun

|Updated on: 8 Jul 2018

Definition of free kick

: a kick (as in football, soccer, or rugby) with which an opponent may not interfere; especially : such a kick in any direction awarded because of an infraction of the rules by an opponent

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Recent Examples of free kick from the Web

At the time, England star Harry Kane took their corners and free kicks, one of the many questionable tactical decisions that eventually cost Roy Hodgson his job.

— ben cohen, WSJ, "England’s Soccer Team Needed Help, So They Stole From the NBA," 2 July 2018
Uruguay gets a free kick from just outside the box.

— victor mather, New York Times, "Edinson Cavani Uses His Head, and Foot, as Uruguay Ousts Portugal," 1 July 2018
When an official calls a team for being offside, the other team gets possession of the ball for an indirect free kick, taken from the spot where the offense occurred.

— Bloomberg.com, "A Guide to the World Cup When You Know Nothing About Soccer," 26 June 2018
Portland also had some bad luck in the game as Kansas City's Gerso Fernandes was not getting called for a handball in the box in the first half after knocking down a free kick from Diego Valeri with his arm.

— jamie goldberg, OregonLive.com, "Portland Timbers play Sporting Kansas City to scoreless draw, extend unbeaten streak to 8 games," 9 June 2018
Substitute Luis Chavez spectacularly curled in a free kick from 30 yards in the 66th minute to cut Toluca’s lead to 2-1.

— mark zeigler, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Xolos eliminated in Liga MX semis, but they don't go quietly," 13 May 2018
Melia made three match-preserving saves, including two on a pair of dangerous free kicks in the 83rd and 86th minutes, and captain defender Matt Besler used his body to prevent a rebound chance from finding its way across the goal line.

— sam mcdowell, kansascity, "Best in MLS? Sporting KC dismisses Atlanta, takes over Supporters’ Shield lead | The Kansas City Star," 9 May 2018
Colombia equalized late in the first half on Juan Quintero’s rolling but accurate free kick, which sneaked inside the right post.

— brett martell, BostonGlobe.com, "Japan takes advantage of early red card to upset Colombia," 19 June 2018
Columbia equalized late in the first half on Juan Quintero's rolling but accurate free kick, which sneaked inside the right post.

— brett martel, Houston Chronicle, "Japan tops Colombia in latest World Cup surprise," 19 June 2018

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