soccer

noun

soc·​cer ˈsä-kər 

: a game played on a field between two teams of 11 players each with the object to propel a round ball into the opponent's goal by kicking or by hitting it with any part of the body except the hands and arms

called also association football

Examples of soccer in a Sentence

Both of their children play soccer.

Recent Examples on the Web

The Open Division soccer championship will be held at L.A. Valley College. —Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2025

That wealth places him seventh in Forbes’ world’s highest-earning soccer players in 2024. —Sam Leveridge, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025

City officials had hoped construction would be underway by now and operating well before visitors arrive in June 2026 for the men’s World Cup soccer tournament. —Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 9 Jan. 2025

Harper, of Lino Lakes and Centennial High School, is the first U player to join the top U.S. women’s soccer league since Eden Prairie forward April Bockin to the Chicago Red Stars in 2019 and Rashida Beal, of Germantown, Wis., with FC Kansas City in 2017. —Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 8 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

by shortening & alteration from association football

First Known Use

1885, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing soccer

• soccer mom
• table soccer

Kids Definition

soccer

noun

soc·​cer ˈsäk-ər 

: a football game with 11 players on a side in which a round ball is advanced by kicking it or by hitting it with any part of the body except the hands and arms

Etymology

by shortening and alteration of association football

Word Origin

Soccer is the world's most popular sport. In most countries, however, its name is not soccer but football. In England, where the modern game started, it is usually called either football or association football. The latter name comes from the fact that the rules of the game were standardized when the Football Association was founded in England in 1863. The word soccer comes from the last three letters of the abbreviation assoc., which stands for "association." Although the word soccer was first used in England, the only countries where it is now the usual name for the sport are the U.S. and Canada.