Word
football
Phoneticsfoot·ball
US/ˈfʊtˌbɔɫ/
UK/fˈʊtbɔːl/
Definitions
02the sport (American)
n. a game played with an oval ball where players run and throw to score points.
n. American football; a full-contact team sport played with an ovoid ball on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end.
“We spent the whole Sunday afternoon watching football on TV.”
“College football remains a massive cultural phenomenon in the Southern United States, often drawing larger crowds than professional games.”
American English
Usage
In the United States, 'football' exclusively refers to the American version of the game.
Synonyms
03the physical ball
n. the actual ball used to play the game.
n. The inflated ball, whether spherical or ovoid, used in any of the various games known as football.
“The children pumped up the football before heading to the park.”
“The referee inspected the football to ensure it was inflated to the regulation pressure before the match commenced.”
Synonyms
04a political issue
n. a problem or topic that politicians argue about for a long time.
n. A problem or issue that is discussed or debated back and forth, often for political gain.
“The new tax law became a political football during the election.”
“The funding for the new hospital has become a political football, with both parties using it to score points rather than solving the budget crisis.”
Formal
05nuclear briefcase
n. the special bag that stays near the US President to control nuclear weapons.
n. The briefcase containing the authentication codes and equipment required to authorise a nuclear attack. Always takes 'the'.
“A military aide always carries the football near the president.”
“The existence of the nuclear football ensures that the commander-in-chief maintains command and control over the nation's arsenal at all times.”
American English · Slang · Technical
Synonyms
Confusables
Football refers to the world's most popular sport in British English, while soccer is the standard term for that same sport in American English.
RememberSoccer is American; Football is British (unless you're in the US).
Etymology
From Middle English fotbal, footbal, equivalent to foot + ball, because the ball was primarily manipulated with the feet in early versions of the game (though some modern varieties involve more handling than kicking). The name for the briefcase is a play on “dropkick”, the code name of an early version of the nuclear war plan.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Collocations
Word family
Idioms
political football — A contentious political issue or problem that is often debated or discussed, but that remains unresolved; an issue or problem which is avoided by authorities and handed off to others.
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/football