soccer

noun

soc·​cer ˈsä-kər 

: 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

Examples of soccer in a Sentence

Both of their children play soccer.

Recent Examples on the Web

This is an exuberant, visually stylish imagining of soccer that, say some critics who played the beta preview, gets tantalizingly close to the pure physical joy of kicking an actual soccer ball around with your friends. —Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 23 May 2025

The announcement builds on Disney’s existing partnership with UEFA through the Playmakers program, which has introduced over 132,000 girls aged 5-8 to soccer across 6,300 centers in 46 countries since 2020. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 23 May 2025

Athletic facilities include two baseball fields, a football stadium, a soccer field, multiple basketball and tennis courts, a swimming pool and a large gymnasium. —Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2025

Dozens of wall-sized TVs put the watch in the Watch Bar, broadcasting baseball, basketball, soccer, MMA bouts — whatever’s in season. —Peter Rowe, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

by shortening & alteration from association football

First Known Use

1885, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing soccer

• soccer mom
• table soccer

Rhymes for soccer

• blocker
• chalker
• cocker
• docker
• hawker
• hocker
• knocker
• locker
• mocker
• ocher
• rocker
• shocker

Kids Definition

soccer

noun

soc·​cer ˈsäk-ər 

: a football game with 11 players on a side in which a round ball is advanced by kicking it or by hitting it with any part of the body except the hands and arms

Etymology

by shortening and alteration of association football

Word Origin

Soccer is the world's most popular sport. In most countries, however, its name is not soccer but football. In England, where the modern game started, it is usually called either football or association football. The latter name comes from the fact that the rules of the game were standardized when the Football Association was founded in England in 1863. The word soccer comes from the last three letters of the abbreviation assoc., which stands for "association." Although the word soccer was first used in England, the only countries where it is now the usual name for the sport are the U.S. and Canada.