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

For Brighton’s equaliser, United played around the Brighton defence, only for Dalot to hoof the ball into the middle of the pitch, forcing centre-forward Benjamin Sesko to head back towards his own goal under pressure. — Chris McKenna, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026

Calvert-Lewin was unlucky to see a 34th-minute header marked down as an own goal after brushing the head of teammate Jayden Bogle on the way in. — ABC News, 14 Sep. 2026

United got on the board in the seventh minute thanks to an Orlando own goal, marking the earliest score for the Five Stripes this season. — Amna Subhan, AJC.com, 10 Sep. 2026

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

Rhymes for own goal

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