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line of scrimmage
noun phrase
: an imaginary line in football that is parallel to the goal lines and tangent to the nose of the ball laid on the ground and marks the position of the ball at the start of each down
Examples of line of scrimmage in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Jalen Carter is tremendous in the middle of that defensive line, and fellow tackle Jordan Davis is best at holding the point of attack at the line of scrimmage.
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Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2025
When Mahomes completed his pass to Hunt, nine Rams defenders were either on the left side of the field, away from the screen, or behind the line of scrimmage.
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Nate Taylor, The Athletic, 23 Jan. 2025
Ohio State’s dominating right now, particularly at the line of scrimmage.
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Andrew Greif, NBC News, 21 Jan. 2025
This penalty is called when a player is lined up across the line of scrimmage, which is set by the ball, before the ball is snapped.
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Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 17 Jan. 2025
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Word History
First Known Use
circa 1909, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of line of scrimmage was
circa 1909
Dictionary Entries Near line of scrimmage
Cite this Entry
“Line of scrimmage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/line%20of%20scrimmage. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025.
Kids Definition
line of scrimmage
: an imaginary line in football parallel to the goal lines and running through the place the ball is laid before each play begins
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