onside kick

noun

: a kickoff in football in which the ball travels just far enough to be legally recoverable by the kicking team

Examples of onside kick in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Bears were down 13-3 through three quarters, but an onside kick recovery set up a game-tying touchdown with 24 seconds left. —Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2026

But special teams were inconsistent among roughing the punter and running into the punter penlaties, allowing a kickoff return touchdown immediately after recording a punt return touchdown, and failing to recover an onside kick. —Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 7 Jan. 2026

Thomas Davis had to leap high to recover an onside kick in the final minutes to clinch the game. —Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 6 Jan. 2026

Cornerback Dee Alford came up with a late-game interception and tight end Kyle Pitts closed things out by recovering the Saints’ onside kick to preserve the 19-17 win on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. —D. Orlando Ledbetter, AJC.com, 5 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1895, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for onside kick

• andesitic
• dizygotic
• endocytic
• impolitic
• lymphocytic
• martensitic
• pegmatitic
• phagocytic
• pharisaic
• realpolitik
• rhyolitic
• actinic