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 Dougherty dropped to 19-6-4. – Joseph Dycus Division III No. 1 Newark Memorial 2, No. 6 Cardinal Newman 1 Newark Memorial capped off an incredible season with a NorCal championship as an own goal by Cardinal Newman in the 64th minute broke a 1-1 tie and accounted for the decisive margin. Nathan Canilao, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2024 The run ended only when Mara and Mack, fighting for a rebound, accidentally scored for Oregon in the basketball equivalent of an own goal. Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2024 All anyone wanted to talk about on social media after the game was the own goal by the Penguins. Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 23 Jan. 2024 The only surprise from a full-throttle first-half was that Arsenal only led by two – courtesy of a fumbled own goal and a superb team move finished off by Kai Havertz. Ben Church, CNN, 25 Feb. 2024 Substitute Pedri González took a second before an own goal by Eric Baily put the hosts ahead. Joseph Wilson, USA TODAY, 27 Jan. 2024 The package, which was split into 12 separate grants each tied to its own goal, is worth about $51.1 billion at Tesla’s closing share price on Tuesday. Peter Eavis, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2024 For the United States to walk away from the conflict at this crucial moment and cut off support to Ukraine would be an own goal of historic proportions. William J. Burns, Foreign Affairs, 30 Jan. 2024 Sustaining the team’s own goal of a top-10 defense, as last season proved, is another matter. Andrew Greif, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2023

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.

Dictionary Entries Near own goal

Cite this Entry

“Own goal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/own%20goal. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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