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scrimmage

noun, verb — 4 senses

scrimmage

noun

UK /ˈskɹɪmɪd͡ʒ/ · US /ˈskɹɪməd͡ʒ/

Etymology A corruption of skirmish.

1

A rough fight.

  • get caught up in a scrimmage
  • There was an instant of complete silence, but when Tough Bill threw himself on Strickland the lust of battle seized them all, and in a moment there was a confused scrimmage. Tables were overturned, glasses crashed to the ground.1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, “chapter 47”, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC:
2

Athletics, Ball games, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Soccer, Sports US In some team sports, especially soccer, a practice game which does not count on a team's record.

  • Merchandise sales surged. The spring scrimmage, usually a yawn of an afterthought at Colorado, was packed.2024 October 4, John Branch, “What Does College Football Have to Do With College?”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:
3

American football, Athletics, Ball games, Football, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports In American football or Canadian football, a play that begins with a snap from the center while opposing teams are on either side of a line of scrimmage.

Derived terms
defensive line of scrimmage, offensive line of scrimmage

scrimmage

verb

Etymology A corruption of skirmish.

1

To have, or be involved in, a scrimmage.

  • We scrimmaged a few times and then settled into boring drills.
  • Elwood caught sight of a football field where some boys scrimmaged and yelped.2019, Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys, Fleet, page 45:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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