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

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

Within three seconds, five PSG players have committed to press and centre-back Francesco Acerbi is facing his own goal — Dembele is on top of him. —Liam Tharme, New York Times, 2 June 2025

On balance, the McKinley tariff was an own goal for U.S. policymakers like Blaine. —Joseph Thorndike, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025

Wirtz runs towards his own goal, dragging a player out of the final line. —Mark Carey, New York Times, 16 May 2025

Rhymes for own goal

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