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
San Diego defender Chris McVey’s routine back pass was untouched by goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos and skipped into the back of their net for an own goal.
—
Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 15 June 2025
By far its darkest moment occurred not on U.S. soil but in Colombia, where Andrés Escobar was murdered after returning home from scoring an own goal that helped eliminate his country.
—Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 13 June 2025
At 7:38 of the second period, Kane would get his own goal, assisted by Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard.
—Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 May 2025
Aleksander Barkov scored a goal off Toronto defender Morgan Rielly’s stick, and Rielly scored his own goal — which tied the game and ultimately sent it to overtime — when his shot bounced off Bobrovsky and Jones.
—Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 11 May 2025
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Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 15 June 2025
By far its darkest moment occurred not on U.S. soil but in Colombia, where Andrés Escobar was murdered after returning home from scoring an own goal that helped eliminate his country.
—Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 13 June 2025
At 7:38 of the second period, Kane would get his own goal, assisted by Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard.
—Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 May 2025
Aleksander Barkov scored a goal off Toronto defender Morgan Rielly’s stick, and Rielly scored his own goal — which tied the game and ultimately sent it to overtime — when his shot bounced off Bobrovsky and Jones.
—Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 11 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for own goal
Cite this Entry
“Own goal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/own%20goal. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
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