foot ‧ ball S1 W2 /ˈfʊtbɔːl $ -bɒːl/ BrE AmE noun
1 . [uncountable] British English a game played by two teams of eleven players who try to kick a round ball into the other team’s ↑ goal SYN soccer American English :
Which football team do you support?
kids playing football in the street
My Dad took me to watch my first football match.
a football club
football fan/supporter
a group of Scottish football fans
football boots/kit/shirt (=clothes worn to play football)
football pitch/ground/stadium
2 . [uncountable] American English a game played by two teams of eleven players who try to carry or kick an ↑ oval ball into the other team’s ↑ goal SYN American football British English :
college football games
a football field
He played football in high school.
3 . football hooligan British English someone who behaves in a noisy or violent way at a football match
4 .
[countable] a ball used in these games
⇨ ↑ flag football , ⇨ political football at ↑ political (4)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ football + NOUN
▪ a football team
Which football team do you support?
▪ a football club
Tottenham Hotspur is a North London football club.
▪ a football player
Like many little boys, his ambition was to be a football player.
▪ a football manager
Football managers shouldn't complain about referees' decisions.
▪ football fan (=someone who likes football a lot )
Pat is a keen football fan.
▪ football supporter (=someone who supports a particular football team)
55 football supporters were arrested after the game.
▪ a football match/game
Do you often go to football matches?
▪ a football pitch (=an area of grass where football is played)
An area of wasteland had been turned into a football pitch.
▪ a football ground/stadium (=a place where football is played)
Hundreds of fans were making their way towards the football ground.
▪ a football league (=a group of football teams who play against each other)
The Premier League is one of the most popular football leagues in the world.
▪ football boots
He got some new football boots for his birthday.
▪ a football shirt
They were all wearing England football shirts.
▪ football kit (=clothes for playing football in)
He washes the whole team's football kit.
▪ a football strip (=clothes worn by a particular football team)
The team wear a different football strip for their Champions League matches.
▪ a football referee (=the person who makes sure that the rules of football are followed)
He is a qualified football referee for the Dorset County Football Association.
▪ a football crowd
We got caught up in a noisy football crowd.
▪ football violence (=between fans at football games)
The government is considering measures to combat football violence.
■ verbs
▪ play football
The boys are playing football in the garden.
▪ watch football
He likes to spend Saturday afternoon watching football.
▪ follow football (=be interested in football)
Bob follows football and goes to as many matches as he can.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + football
▪ professional football
It was his dream to play professional football one day.
▪ international football (=played by teams representing their country)
He will retire from international football after the World Cup.
▪ domestic football (=played between teams from the same country)
Saturday's defeat was the team's first in domestic football for seven matches.
▪ cup football (=in a competition to win a cup)
It was an exciting match in the best traditions of cup football.
▪ league football (=in a football league)
He was still playing league football at the age of 41.
▪ five-a-side football (=with five players on each team)
His son played in a five-a-side football tournament.