ENGLISH
REFERENCE

score

n. countable
A2 Elementary Oxford US //ˈskɔɹ// UK //skˈɔː// score Dialect General-service Slang Vulgar

n. the number of points or goals a person or team gets in a game. You also use it to talk about the final result of a match.

n. the number of points, goals, or runs achieved by a participant in a competitive game or examination. Often used to represent the final outcome of a sporting event.


SIMPLE

The final score of the game was two to one.

CONTEXTUAL

The teacher posted the test scores on the wall so students could see how they performed.

COMPLEX

Despite dominating possession for the majority of the second half, the home team failed to improve their score before the final whistle blew.

Synonyms
Origin

From Middle English score, skore, schore, from Old English scoru (“notch; tally; score”), from Old Norse skor, from Proto-Germanic skurō (“incision; tear; rift”), which is related to skeraną (“to cut”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“cut”). Cognate with Icelandic skora, Swedish skåra, Danish skår. Related to shear. For the sense “twenty”: The mark on a tally made by drovers for every twenty beasts passing through a tollgate.

Usage

Commonly used with the verb 'keep' to track points during a game.

Idioms8 entries

© 2026 English Reference