onside

American

[on-sahyd, awn-] / ˈɒnˈsaɪd, ˈɔn- /

adjective

Sports.

not offside; being within the prescribed line or area at the beginning of or during play or a play.

onside British

/ ˌɒnˈsaɪd /

adjective

sport (of a player) in a legal position, as when behind the ball or with a required number of opponents between oneself and the opposing team's goal line

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

taking one's part or side; working towards the same goal (esp in the phrase get someone onside ) Compare offside

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of onside

First recorded in 1840–50; on + side ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The striker's celebrations were cut short by the offside flag but a VAR review showed he was onside and the goal was given.

From Barron's

One question is how long Rodríguez can keep this double act of keeping both the Venezuelan left and the US administration onside?

From BBC

If you come in as a manager and start by winning games, immediately the players are going to be onside.

From BBC

Liam McArthur has been moving towards accepting that change and is now of the view that it is necessary to offer further reassurance to those he needs to keep onside.

From BBC

No matter how you define the law, there will always be the point where a player moves from being onside to offside.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023