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soccer

noun soc·cer \ ˈsä-kər \
|Updated on: 15 Jul 2018

Definition of soccer

: a game played on a field between two teams of 11 players each with the object to propel a round ball into the opponent's goal by kicking or by hitting it with any part of the body except the hands and arms — called also association football

See soccer defined for English-language learners

See soccer defined for kids

Examples of soccer in a Sentence

  1. Both of their children play soccer.

Recent Examples of soccer from the Web

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

Origin and Etymology of soccer

by shortening & alteration from association football

Other Field and Goal Sports Terms

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

SOCCER Defined for English Language Learners

soccer

noun

Definition of soccer for English Language Learners

  • : a game played between two teams of 11 players in which a round ball is moved toward a goal usually by kicking

SOCCER Defined for Kids

soccer

noun soc·cer \ ˈsä-kər \

Definition of soccer for Students

: a game played between two teams of eleven players in which a round inflated ball is moved toward a goal usually by kicking

History for soccer

At Oxford University in England, in the 1870s, it became a fad among students to make up slang forms of everyday words by clipping them to a single syllable and then adding the meaningless suffix -er. Most of these coinages, such as footer for football, fresher for freshman, and brekker for breakfast, are unfamiliar in North American English, if they have survived at all. However, one -er coinage has become very successful in the United States: the word soccer. Soccer was shortened from association (or assoc.) football, which was the name for a game played according to the rules of the Football Association, founded in England in 1863.

Learn More about soccer

  1. See words that rhyme with soccer Spanish Central: Translation of soccer Nglish: Translation of soccer for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of soccer for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about soccer

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