scrimmage

scrim·mage | \ ˈskri-mij

Definition of scrimmage

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : a minor battle : skirmish

b : 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 dead

b : practice play (as in football or basketball) between two squads

scrimmage

verb

scrimmaged; scrimmaging

Definition of scrimmage (Entry 2 of 2)

intransitive verb

: to take part in a scrimmage

transitive verb

: to play a scrimmage against

Other Words from scrimmage Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More about scrimmage

Keep scrolling for more

Examples of scrimmage in a Sentence

Noun The first play from scrimmage netted them a touchdown. the two players got into a scrimmage off the court and got suspended Verb Last weekend we scrimmaged against Bell High.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The club's stay there will be highlighted by an intrasquad scrimmage and three matches. — Pat Brennan, Cincinnati.com, "FC Cincinnati set for up to 7 exhibition matches in 2020 preseason," 20 Dec. 2019 The scrimmage ended when another cornerback, senior Joey Mongelluzzi, had to be taken out by ambulance. — Matt Goul, cleveland, "JV tests anything but junior level to prepare Kirtland’s Carson Andonian, Joey Grazia," 6 Dec. 2019 Atlanta allows a league-high 408.5 yards from scrimmage per game when at home. — Esten Mclaren, USA TODAY Sportsbook Wire, "Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons odds, picks and best bets," 4 Dec. 2019 He's been playing 5-on-5 since early November, and getting up and down the court in a scrimmage situation is an encouraging sign of progress more than 10 months removed from rupturing his right quad tendon. — Akeem Glaspie, Indianapolis Star, "Pacers guard Victor Oladipo listening to his body; won't set timetable for return," 4 Dec. 2019 That was followed by an online tournament tryout, which led to Harrisburg flying Carrell to Pennsylvania for an interview and in-person scrimmage. — Luke Winkie, The Atlantic, "Where Gamers Are the Only Varsity Athletes," 13 Nov. 2019 Kuzma won’t play Friday, but he was spotted Wednesday doing some unopposed scrimmage work. — Tania Ganguli, Los Angeles Times, "Lakers break down what went wrong in loss to Clippers," 23 Oct. 2019 The evening featured music, skits, and scrimmages by the university’s women’s and men’s basketball teams. — Madeleine Carlisle, Time, "University of Kansas Apologizes for Explicit Snoop Dogg Performance at Basketball Season Kickoff Event," 5 Oct. 2019 The scrimmage experience against actual opposing players will give the Bulldogs five weekdays to prepare for Olympian. — Joe Naiman, Ramona Sentinel, "Bulldogs to host four-way scrimmage Aug. 15," 7 Aug. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb After scrimmaging twice with Golden State’s G League affiliate in Santa Cruz last week, Looney, 23, fully participated in his first NBA practice Sunday in a month. — Connor Letourneau, SFChronicle.com, "Warriors’ Kevon Looney on neuropathic condition: ‘I feel confident in my rehab’," 24 Nov. 2019 On Sunday, Auburn began scrimmaging without its seniors to get a preview of what the 2020 squad will look like. — Giana Han, al, "5 storylines to watch heading into National Signing Day," 16 Dec. 2019 Those teams played with rotations of just six or seven players, and Calipari frequently hosted practices scrimmages with one squad made up of the primary rotation and the other made up of the walk-ons and other players at the end of the bench. — Jon Hale, The Courier-Journal, "Kentucky basketball's Nate Sestina out for four weeks with broken wrist," 27 Nov. 2019 Mason Walker, 9, a fourth-grader from Morton Grove, plays football and scrimmaged with the Park Ridge Falcons. — Karie Angell Luc, chicagotribune.com, "Chicago Bears visit Maine East to kick illness during Breast Cancer Awareness Month," 16 Oct. 2019 Murray and White have logged time side-by-side during several of the team’s scrimmages early in training camp. — Jeff Mcdonald, ExpressNews.com, "Derrick White’s summer abroad could pay dividends for Spurs’ bench," 5 Oct. 2019 Now, after sitting out the entire preseason and the first three regular-season games, Cauley-Stein is poised to make his Golden State debut against the Suns on Wednesday night having yet to scrimmage with his new teammates. — Connor Letourneau, SFChronicle.com, "Willie Cauley-Stein to learn ‘on the fly’ in Warriors debut," 30 Oct. 2019 The squad would scrimmage, and some poor soul would get the zero-margin-for-error task of sticking with one of the best shooters on planet Earth along the 3-point arc. — Jeff Mcdonald, ExpressNews.com, "Late surge keeps Spurs 2-0," 27 Oct. 2019 Or the Seahawks and Texans scrimmaging in Madison, Wis., where Russell Wilson and J.J. Watt played? — Phil Rosenthal, chicagotribune.com, "Column: Here are 6 ideas to make NFL preseason games more tolerable, including cutting the 4-game schedule in half," 29 Aug. 2019

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.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about scrimmage

Dictionary Entries near scrimmage

Statistics for scrimmage

Last Updated

18 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Scrimmage.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scrimmage. Accessed 20 January 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for scrimmage

scrimmage

noun