scrimmage

1 of 2

noun

scrim·​mage ˈskri-mij 

1

a

: a minor battle : skirmish

b

: a confused fight : scuffle

2

a

: the interplay between two football teams that begins with the snap of the ball and continues until the ball is dead

b

: practice play (as in football or basketball) between two squads

scrimmage

2 of 2

verb

scrimmaged; scrimmaging

intransitive verb

: to take part in a scrimmage

transitive verb

: to play a scrimmage against

scrimmager noun

Synonyms

Noun

• battle
• clash
• combat
• conflict
• contest
• dustup
• fight
• fracas
• fray
• hassle
• scrap
• scrum
• scuffle
• skirmish
• struggle
• tussle

Verb

• battle
• clash (with)
• combat
• fight
• skirmish (with)
• war (against)

Examples of scrimmage in a Sentence

Noun

The first play from scrimmage netted them a touchdown.

the two players got into a scrimmage off the court and got suspended

Verb

Last weekend we scrimmaged against Bell High.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Embiid, meanwhile, did not play in games or participate in full-court scrimmages during the preseason. —Tim Casey, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024

Freeman did take live at-bats in the scrimmage but appeared to still be walking gingerly. —Mike Digiovanna, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2024

Verb

Montreal, Boston and Ottawa will take part in the Montreal mini-camp, to be held at Place Bell, while Toronto, Minnesota and New York will scrimmage at Toronto’s training facility, the Ford Performance Centre. —Carol Schram, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024

The two will scrimmage against each other in Thursday’s teal vs. white prospects game at Tech CU Arena. —Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 3 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English scrymmage, alteration of skyrmissh skirmish

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

circa 1536, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Phrases Containing scrimmage

• line of scrimmage
• scrimmage line

Kids Definition

scrimmage

1 of 2 noun

scrim·​mage ˈskrim-ij 

1

: a minor battle : skirmish

2

: the play between two football teams that begins with the snap of the ball

3

: practice play between a team's squads or a practice game between two teams

scrimmage

2 of 2 verb

scrimmaged; scrimmaging

: to take part in a scrimmage

scrimmager noun