own goal

noun

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

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 Spain has played a sloppy first half against Brazil in this semifinal, putting its opponents ahead minutes into the match with an own goal and unable to make up for the loss. —

Gadi Schwartz, NBC News, 7 Aug. 2024 Related article How 19-year-old Arda Güler, dubbed ‘the Turkish Messi,’ lit up the European Championship The Turkish defender gave his side the perfect start after just 57 seconds, blasting home from close range following some pinball in the Austria box which almost resulted in an own goal. —

Ben Morse, CNN, 2 July 2024 Adriana then extended Brazil’s lead further in the second half, but an own goal from Duda Sampaio cut Spain’s deficit to 3-1. —

Matias Grez, CNN, 6 Aug. 2024 An early Dorian Bailey own goal got Bay FC in a 1-0 hole against Angel City FC on Friday night, and the visitors from Los Angeles added an insurance goal in the second half to win 2-0 in front of 9,766 fans at PayPal Park. —

Christian Babcock, The Mercury News, 27 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for own goal

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'own goal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.