goaltending

noun

goal·​tend·​ing ˈgōl-ˌten-diŋ 

1

: the act of guarding a goal (as in hockey)

2

: a violation in basketball that involves touching or deflecting a ball that is on its downward path toward the basket or on or within the rim of the basket

Examples of goaltending in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Unlike recent wins, the B’s did not have to lean too heavily on their goaltending. —Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 26 Mar. 2026

The goaltending is bad, but Connor McDavid and a presumably healthy-by-then Leon Draisaitl can make that not matter. —Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 22 Mar. 2026

In Thursday night’s road loss against Dallas, Bouchard (and the goaltending) struggled in the first period. —Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2026

Another free agent to be, Alex Nedeljkovic, signed a two-year, $6 million extension, keeping the Sharks’ goaltending tandem, with Yaroslav Askarov, in place for the time being. —Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 7 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1891, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for goaltending

• amending
• appending
• ascending
• attending
• befriending
• commending
• contending
• defending
• depending
• descending
• distending
• expending