penalty kick

noun

1

: a free kick in rugby

2

: a free kick at the goal in soccer made from a point 12 yards in front of the goal and allowed for certain violations within a designated area around the goal

Examples of penalty kick in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Now that his dreams are a reality, Bakker expects the Netherlands to be one of the strongest teams in the tournament — even stronger than the team that took Argentina, the eventual 2022 World Cup champions, to penalty kicks. —Kansas City Star, 10 June 2026

But the suspicion the US wasn’t really a football nation was compounded at the opening ceremony, after Diana Ross danced the length of the pitch to take a penalty kick and yanked the ball far left of the goal, which was unfortunately rigged to split apart to simulate a wonder-strike. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 9 June 2026

If a player is hit with a penalty, the other team will get a penalty kick. —Irene Wright, USA Today, 9 June 2026

The 1994 World Cup ended when Italy’s Roberto Baggio sent his penalty kick sailing high over the net and doomed his side’s chances. —Jonathan Lemire, The Atlantic, 4 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1889, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for penalty kick

• andesitic
• anthelmintic
• dizygotic
• impolitic
• lymphocytic
• martensitic
• phagocytic
• pharisaic
• realpolitik
• rhyolitic
• visigothic
• actinic