own goal

noun

1

chiefly British : a goal in soccer, hockey, etc., that a player accidentally scores against his or her own team

2

British : something that one does thinking it will help him or her but that actually causes one harm

The workers scored an own goal by demanding such high wages that no one could afford to employ them.

Examples of own goal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This match has taken on a new life after the entrance of Romelu Lukaku, whose pressure on the net led to an own goal for Egypt. —Andrew Greif, NBC news, 16 June 2026

Scotland fought hard, and might have snatched a point after scoring a penalty kick to tie the game 1–1, but, in the seventy-fourth minute, Cafu attacked, causing enough panic in the Scotland box to force a calamitous own goal. —Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 16 June 2026

In the seventh minute, McKennie’s pass went off Paraguayan defender Damian Bobadilla into the net for an own goal. —Michael Lewis, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026

Just seven minutes into the match, Pulisic beat a trio of defenders on the left side, crossing a ball that was eventually knocked into the net for an own goal by Damian Bobadilla. —Filip Bondy, New York Daily News, 13 June 2026

Rhymes for own goal

• bankroll
• bedroll
• borehole
• cajole
• catchpole
• charcoal
• condole
• control
• dipole
• downhole
• enroll
• extol