Synonyms

soccer

American

[sok-er] / ˈsɒk ər /

British, association football

noun

a form of football played between two teams of 11 players, in which the ball may be advanced by kicking or by bouncing it off any part of the body but the arms and hands, except in the case of the goalkeepers, who may use their hands to catch, carry, throw, or stop the ball.

soccer British

/ ˈsɒkə /

noun

Also called: Association Football.
1. a game in which two teams of eleven players try to kick or head a ball into their opponent's goal, only the goalkeeper on either side being allowed to touch the ball with his hands and arms except in the case of throw-ins
2. ( as modifier )
  
  a soccer player

"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 soccer

First recorded in 1890–95; (As)soc(iation football) + -er ⁷

Compare meaning

How does soccer compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

Rugby vs. soccer

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.

No team in English soccer oscillates faster between a romp to certain glory and imminent collapse than Arsenal.

From The Wall Street Journal

Across the tent, in a display of performance art, Amanda Ross-Ho continuously pushes a giant, inflatable Earth around a soccer field, symbolic of “the labor it takes to just keep things going all the time.”

From Los Angeles Times

In fact, the only bone I’ve ever broken is my thumb, in tenth grade, when a friend kicked a soccer ball into my hand at close range.

From The Wall Street Journal

City Section soccer championship schedule for Saturday that still is undergoing changes.

From Los Angeles Times

Marquez, South East and Franklin were removed from the City Section boys’ soccer playoffs after using ineligible players.

From Los Angeles Times

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