penalty area

American

noun

Soccer.

the area, 44 yards (40 meters) wide and 18 yards (16 meters) deep, centered on the goal line and extending in front of the goal, where a foul by a defensive player results in a penalty kick for the offensive team.

penalty area British

noun

soccer a rectangular area in front of the goal, within which the goalkeeper may handle the ball and within which a penalty is awarded for a foul by the defending team

"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 penalty area

First recorded in 1900–05

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.

"Kavanagh took his time and used all his experience to rightly ascertain that contact continued inside the penalty area and awarded a penalty kick," he added.

From BBC

"The red-card sanction was also the correct outcome. The law states 'where a player commits an offence against an opponent within their own penalty area which denies an opponent an obvious goalscoring opportunity, and the referee awards a penalty kick, the offender must be sent off if the offence is for holding or pulling'."

From BBC

In the Champions League, the VAR will only check for clear and obvious errors relating to goals, incidents in the penalty area, direct red cards and cases of mistaken identity.

From BBC

The Villa full-back was two yards inside the penalty area when he was penalised for a handball, but Kavanagh and Greenhalgh decided the offence was a yard outside the area and awarded a free-kick - from which Newcastle's Sandro Tonali scored the 63rd-minute equaliser.

From BBC

The Villa full-back was at least a yard inside the penalty area when he was penalised for a handball, but incredibly Kavanagh awarded a free-kick - from which Tonali eventually scored the 63rd-minute equaliser.

From BBC

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