line of scrimmage

noun phrase

: an imaginary line in football that is parallel to the goal lines and tangent to the nose of the ball laid on the ground and marks the position of the ball at the start of each down

Examples of line of scrimmage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This is a remote camera hovering above and behind the line of scrimmage, replicating the perspective one sees in a video game. —Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026

And because only days before the February 2021 surgery Mahomes had scrambled a stupefying 497 yards behind the line of scrimmage before throwing the ball or being sacked in a 31-9 drubbing by Tampa Bay in Super Bowl LV. —Kansas City Star, 22 Jan. 2026

And the slow build — assembling the roster from the line of scrimmage outward, stacking recruiting classes and acing transfer portal additions, hiring the right coaches — slowly saw results. —Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 21 Jan. 2026

Stevenson gains yards and Henderson has been getting stuffed at the line of scrimmage. —Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 21 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1909, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for line of scrimmage

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Kids Definition

line of scrimmage

: an imaginary line in football parallel to the goal lines and running through the place the ball is laid before each play begins