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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
Limmer had made a couple of mental errors at the line of scrimmage when identifying the defensive fronts and the blocking assignments for the rest of the line.
—Adam Grosbard, Orange County Register, 31 Oct. 2024
With his team down 31-10 in the third quarter against the Buffalo Bills, the quarterback spotted a gap at the line of scrimmage and decided to scramble for a first down.
—Pandora Dewan, Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2024
And with each passing season, Rodgers changed a higher percentage of McCarthy’s play calls at the line of scrimmage.
—Rob Reischel, Forbes, 11 Oct. 2024
On Arizona’s first possession, Kyler Murray’s pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage and defensive lineman Teair Tart intercepted the deflection — only to give the ball right back to the Cardinals when the ball was stripped from his grasp.
—Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2024
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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 21 Nov. 2024.
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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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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