free kick

noun

: 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

Examples of free kick in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Messi’s free kick clanked off the crossbar and Suarez put in the rebound, but it was ruled offside. —Michelle Kaufman april 7, Miami Herald, 7 Apr. 2026

Pelé scored an unforgettable goal that day on a free kick from 35 yards out, struck with so much power that the follow-through lifted him up into the air. —John Meyer, Denver Post, 6 Apr. 2026

But the Manchester United captain called over Joao Neves, the 21-year-old Paris Saint-Germain midfielder, to practise with him and the pair took free kicks using a Trackman device to assess their stats. —Chris McKenna, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2026

Luis Suarez, who scored in the 82nd minute, took the rebound of Messi’s free kick in the 90th minute and scored the would-be winning goal. —Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 5 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1862, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for free kick

• broomstick
• dipstick
• homesick
• joystick
• lipstick
• nonstick
• pickwick
• picnic
• redbrick
• seasick
• sidekick
• slapstick

Kids Definition

free kick

noun

: a kick (as in football or soccer) with which an opponent may not interfere

also : such a kick awarded because an opponent has broken the rules