Definition of "football" []

• Sports A game played by two teams of 11 players each on a rectangular, 100-yard-long field with goal lines and goal posts at either end, the object being to gain possession of the ball and advance it in running or passing plays across the opponent's goal line or kick it through the air between the opponent's goal posts. (noun)
• Sports The inflated oval ball used in this game. (noun)
• Chiefly British Rugby. (noun)
• Chiefly British Soccer. (noun)
• Chiefly British The ball used in Rugby or soccer. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Maybe it's time to lay the term "football widow" to rest."
• "As for me, the best bet in football is betting the point spread or over/under totals on individual games."
• "The problem with such a philosophy in football is that when you are spending so much on individual players, those individual players are still at the mercy of their teammates."