offside
adj.adj. in a position that is not allowed in a game like football or hockey. You are usually in this position if you are behind the last defender when the ball is passed to you.
adj. positioned illegally beyond a prescribed line or behind the final defender at the moment the ball is played. Often used predicatively after linking verbs like 'be' or 'catch'.
The striker was offside when he scored the goal.
The assistant referee raised his flag because the winger had strayed into an offside position before the cross was made.
Modern video technology allows officials to determine if a player is offside by a matter of millimetres, often leading to goals being disallowed for the slightest of margins.
From off- + side. Compare German Abseite (“remote area, backside”), German abseits (“out of the way, apart, aside”, adverb), Dutch afzijdig (“neutral, impartial”).
Primarily used as a predicative adjective in sports contexts; can also function as an adverb.
he was in offsidehe was offsideIn English, 'offside' is an adjective or adverb, so you do not use the preposition 'in' before it.