scrimmage

play

noun scrim·mage \ˈskri-mij\

Definition of scrimmage

1a : a minor battle : skirmishb : a confused fight : scuffle
2a : the interplay between two football teams that begins with the snap of the ball and continues until the ball is deadb : practice play (as in football or basketball) between two squads

See scrimmage defined for English-language learners

See scrimmage defined for kids

Examples of scrimmage in a Sentence

The first play from scrimmage netted them a touchdown.
the two players got into a scrimmage off the court and got suspended

Recent Examples of scrimmage from the Web

One of those guys is defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, who had 10 pass breakups last season — something incredibly rare for a player that starts with his hand in the dirt on the line of scrimmage.

— emmanuel morgan, charlotteobserver, "Has ACC become college football’s best conference? If you ask folks in Charlotte ...," 13 July 2017
The camp consisted of daily training and evaluation with two scrimmages under U.S. Soccer Development coach April Kater.

— matt le cren, Naperville Sun, "Naperville's Devin Lynch gets call from U-15 national soccer team," 27 June 2017
The player that has impressed me the most in the scrimmages is Hami (Diallo).

— romeo langford, The Courier-Journal, "The Romeo Langford Blog: Wheels up to Egypt with the USA U19 Team," 26 June 2017
Temperance Bedford coach Jeff Wood told the East squad the reverse pass was going to be the first play from scrimmage in practice on Sunday.

— brandon folsom, Detroit Free Press, "Frankenmuth's Jared Davis wants to be next Jordan Kovacs at Michigan," 24 June 2017
Best part is a series of jams from an intrasquad scrimmage at the 1:20 mark.

— andrew perloff, SI.com, "2017 NBA Mock Draft: The YouTube Edition," 22 June 2017
More: Romeo Langford makes Team USA, will play in Egypt Diallo had 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting in Wednesday night's scrimmage.

— fletcher page, The Courier-Journal, "UK's Diallo, Washington make Calipari's Team USA roster," 22 June 2017
Camp: Loudoun Sports Center in Ashburn is offering registration for a week-long summer camp for youths 6 and older, June 19-23, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. The camp will focus on skills, speed, agility, footwork and scrimmages.

— Washington Post, "Sports announcements for Loudoun County," 19 June 2017
Some of the greatest NFL players of all time descended on a converted soccer field outside Tel Aviv to watch local youths scrimmage in a big boost for the burgeoning sport of American football in Israel.

— aron heller, Jewish Journal, "Montana, Brown and Staubach give Israeli football huge boost," 19 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'scrimmage.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of scrimmage

Middle English scrymmage, alteration of skyrmissh skirmish

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

Other Field and Goal Sports Terms

crease, lateral, lax, overthrow, playbook, post, screen, scrum, secondary, ultimate

scrimmage

verb scrim·mage

Definition of scrimmage

scrimmaged

;

scrimmaging

intransitive verb
: to take part in a scrimmage
transitive verb
: to play a scrimmage against

scrimmager

noun

See scrimmage defined for English-language learners

Examples of scrimmage in a Sentence

Last weekend we scrimmaged against Bell High.

Recent Examples of scrimmage from the Web

Trinity will scrimmage at Ryle on Aug. 11 before opening its regular season.

— jason frakes, The Courier-Journal, "Trinity football to face Indiana, Ohio, Florida opponents in 2017," 21 June 2017
The teams are somewhat familiar with each other, having scrimmaged in the 2015 and 2016 preseasons.

— mike preston, baltimoresun.com, "Mike Preston: Syracuse presents a big challenge for Towson," 15 May 2017
SCRIMMAGE TWEAKS The Gophers will scrimmage Saturday, but with only five healthy offensive lineman, head coach P.J. Fleck said the format and number of plays will be tweaked.

— andy greder, Twin Cities, "Gophers receive commitment from Ohio offensive lineman," 30 Mar. 2017
SALT LAKE CITY — Arizona and Saint Mary’s are no strangers after scrimmaging during the preseason three times in the last four years.

— kareem copeland, The Denver Post, "Lauri Markkanen, Trier lead Arizona to 69-60 win over Saint Mary’s," 19 Mar. 2017
HARRISON, N.J. — In an empty Red Bull Arena, a group of teenage soccer players scrimmaged under the watch of a FIFA referee.

— wayne epps jr., New York Times, "Sign Up for the Sports Newsletter," 20 July 2016

First Known Use of scrimmage

circa 1825

Other General Sports Terms

kegler, mulligan, rappel, turkey

SCRIMMAGE Defined for English Language Learners

scrimmage

play

noun

Definition of scrimmage for English Language Learners

American football : the point in a game at which the center passes or throws the ball to the quarterback
: an informal game that is played for practice : a game that is not official

scrimmage

verb

Definition of scrimmage for English Language Learners

: to play in a scrimmage

SCRIMMAGE Defined for Kids

scrimmage

play

noun scrim·mage \ˈskri-mij\

Definition of scrimmage for Students

1 : the action between two football teams when one attempts to move the ball down the field
2 : a practice game between two teams or between two groups from the same team