scrimmage

1 of 2

noun

scrim·​mage ˈskri-mij How to pronounce scrimmage (audio)
1
a
: a minor battle : skirmish
b
: a confused fight : scuffle
2
a
: 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

2 of 2

verb

scrimmaged; scrimmaging

intransitive verb

: to take part in a scrimmage

transitive verb

: to play a scrimmage against
scrimmager noun

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
Neither has the total number of preseason at-bats Ohtani is expected to get, with Roberts noting the slugger might split time between official spring games and informal backfield scrimmages. Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 16 Feb. 2024 Megan Gustafson, who was Iowa’s all-time scoring leader before Clark eclipsed her, recalled visiting a practice last fall, when a scrimmage referee’s officiating had already displeased Clark. Matt Flegenheimer, New York Times, 6 Feb. 2024 Andrew Dodson, 17, suffered a traumatic brain injury during a routine tackle at Pulaski County’s spring football scrimmage in April. Stephanie Kuzydym, The Courier-Journal, 16 Jan. 2024 The duo of Mostert and Waddle, which has combined for 2,213 total yards of scrimmage this season, gives the Dolphins nine of their 11 starters from the beginning of the season on offense. David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 13 Jan. 2024 Neither is Caleb Williams, which means everyone else (on both sides of scrimmage) must raise the level of play. Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 16 Feb. 2024 This season McCaffrey amassed 2,023 scrimmage yards, scored 21 touchdowns, was voted All-Pro and offensive player of the year and was a finalist for most valuable player. Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2024 Hill, who was nominated for Offensive Player of the Year, lost out to San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, who accounted for 2,023 scrimmage yards and 21 touchdowns. Daniel Oyefusi, Miami Herald, 9 Feb. 2024 On Friday, the Gophers had a scrimmage focused on the first 20 minutes of the game. Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 26 Jan. 2024
Verb
Hidalgo, too, sharpened her stealing skills while scrimmaging against boys when growing up in Haddonfield, New Jersey, and starring at Paul VI High. Pete Iacobelli, USA TODAY, 10 Jan. 2024 There would be no complaining about any foul called when the team scrimmaged. Michelle Gardner, The Arizona Republic, 26 Jan. 2024 That’s why Republican presidential candidates are scrimmaging for the crown of toughest on the cartels, toughest on immigration. Christian Schneider, National Review, 21 Dec. 2023 Maria Sánchez grew up scrimmaging boys in rural Idaho. Rachel Bachman, WSJ, 18 Dec. 2023 That’s because nobody was willing to scrimmage a team ranked No. 8 in the nation in the MaxPreps preseason ratings. Greg Riddle, Dallas News, 22 Aug. 2023 Helix didn’t scrimmage 11-on-11, instead working in pods of about six players. Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Sep. 2023 Ward was filling in for Mississippi State transfer Reed Buys, who had been the primary second-team right guard throughout camp but did not scrimmage Saturday. Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, 14 Aug. 2023 The possibility of a spring game being an inter-squad scrimmage has been bandied about for years, but has gained significant traction this offseason after Division II approved a proposal for its football teams to scrimmage four-year schools starting in the spring of 2024. oregonlive, 13 Apr. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scrimmage.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English scrymmage, alteration of skyrmissh skirmish

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

circa 1536, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of scrimmage was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near scrimmage

Cite this Entry

“Scrimmage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scrimmage. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

scrimmage

1 of 2 noun
scrim·​mage ˈskrim-ij How to pronounce scrimmage (audio)
1
: a minor battle : skirmish
2
: the play between two football teams that begins with the snap of the ball
3
: practice play between a team's squads or a practice game between two teams

scrimmage

2 of 2 verb
scrimmaged; scrimmaging
: to take part in a scrimmage
scrimmager noun

More from Merriam-Webster on scrimmage

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!