nonplay

noun

non·​play ˌnän-ˈplā 

plural nonplays

1

: activity that is not play (see play entry 2 sense 2a)

—often used before another noun

a nonplay area/situation

2

: a play or possible play in a game (see play entry 2 sense 3c) that is not attempted, does not count, etc.

… they made three errors, a couple of misplays and one very costly nonplay: shortstop Erick Aybar allowing Hideki Matsui's inning-ending popup to drop …

—Marc Topkin

In a cold rain, down by two, Lindell had already made the 51-yarder—but it was ruled a nonplay because, just before the snap, Gibbs called timeout.

—Marcus Hayes

Examples of nonplay in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But even though the forward pass was legalized in 1906, until the ball took on its present size and shape in 1935, the pass was a nonplay. —Popular Mechanics, 1 Feb. 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined at sense 2