own goal

noun

1

chiefly British : a goal in soccer, hockey, etc., that a player accidentally scores against his or her own team

2

British : something that one does thinking it will help him or her but that actually causes one harm

The workers scored an own goal by demanding such high wages that no one could afford to employ them.

Examples of own goal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Brughmans’ work outside of protecting his own goal is equally interesting. — Matt Pyzdrowski, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026

Dash rookie Leah Klenke put the Pride ahead with an own goal in the 14th minute before conceding a penalty against Summer Yates 28 minutes later. — ABC News, 7 Sep. 2026

The 32-year-old scored again in the 26th, six minutes after the own goal. — CBS News, 6 Sep. 2026

The Chiefs began the period backed up near their own goal line, which meant three straight plays featuring Walker before a toss to backup running back Emari Demercado. — Pete Sweeney, Kansas City Star, 8 Aug. 2026

On Son’s opener, Sporting midfielder Zorhan Bassong intercepted a Tillman pass near midfield but played the ball back toward his own goal and directly into Son’s path. — Josh Gross, Daily News, 26 July 2026

Argentina finally re-took the lead for good in the 111th minute when Cristian Romero hit a glancing header that deflected off the arm of Cape Verde defender Diney Borges for an own goal. — Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 13 July 2026

During the knockout World Cup round Tuesday, Argentina's national team mounted a late comeback where Cristian Romero scored a goal then Lionel Messi equalized with his own goal in the 83rd minute for the win. — Jennifer Elias, CNBC, 9 July 2026

Rhymes for own goal

• bankroll
• bedroll
• borehole
• cajole
• catchpole
• charcoal
• condole
• control
• dipole
• downhole
• enroll
• extol