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Sports terms glossary page 4

Sports terms explained in plain English. 1,062 words and meanings, most familiar first.

Word	Meaning
pad noun	A soft cover for a batsman's leg that protects it from damage when hit by the ball.
cue noun	A straight tapering stick used to hit the balls in various games.
buzzer noun	A run scored from an overthrow.
gap noun	The regions between the outfielders.
peg noun	A stump.
erase verb	To remove a runner from the bases via a double play or pick off play
shade verb	To move slightly from one's normal fielding position.
dolly verb	To hit a dolly.
anchor noun	A defensive player, especially one who counters the opposition's best offensive player.
maiden noun	A maiden over.
tourist noun	A member of the visiting team in a match.
choke verb	To hold the club or bat lower on the shaft in order to shorten one's swing.
pointless adjective	Having no points
breakdown noun	A loss of organization (of the parts of a system).
slam noun	One of the competitions of the yearly Grand Slam events.
racket noun	An implement with a handle connected to a round frame strung with wire, sinew, or plastic cords, and used to hit a ball, such as in tennis or a birdie in badminton.
shallow adjective	Not far forward, close to the net.
whack verb	To beat convincingly; to thrash.
facial noun	(in some contact sports) A foul play which involves one player hitting another in the face.
hurricane noun	"full—triple-full—full" – an acrobatic maneuver consisting of three flips and five twists, with one twist on the first flip, three twists on the second flip, one twist on the third flip
heel noun	The part of a club head's face nearest the shaft.
bandit noun	A runner who covertly joins a race without having registered as a participant.
skipper noun	The captain of a sports team such as football, cricket, rugby or curling.
fade noun	A golf shot that curves intentionally to the player's right (if they are right-handed) or to the left (if left-handed).
exhibition noun	A game which does not impact the standings for any major cup or competition.
keeper noun	The player charged with guarding a goal or wicket. Short form of goalkeeper, wicketkeeper.
submarine adjective	Of a pitch, thrown with the hand lower than the elbow.
partnership noun	The period when two specific batsmen are batting, from the fall of one wicket until the fall of the next; the number of runs scored during this period,
roller noun	A large rolling device used to flatten the surface of the pitch.
setup noun	A move or set of moves which are meant to draw out a reaction which leaves an exploitable opening in defense.
defensive adjective	Of a bowling or fielding tactic designed to prevent the other side from scoring runs; of a batting tactic designed to prevent being out.
caution noun	A yellow card.
clearance noun	The act of potting all the remaining balls on a table at one visit.
finals noun	A contest that narrows a field of contestants (finalists) to ranked positions, usually in numbered places (1st place/prize, 2nd place/prize, etc.) or a winner and numbered runners-up (1st runner-up, etc.).
overtime noun	An extra period of play when a contest has a tie score at the end of regulation.
activate verb	To bring a player back after an injury.
poke noun	A hit, especially an extra base hit.
blink noun	Boughs cast where deer are to pass, in order to turn or check them.
formation noun	An arrangement of players designed to facilitate certain plays.
bunker noun	(golf) A hazard on a golf course consisting of a sand-filled hollow.
runner noun	A player who runs for a batsman who is too injured to run; he is dressed exactly as the injured batsman, and carries a bat.
platoon verb	To alternate starts with a teammate of opposite handedness, depending on the handedness of the opposing pitcher
pickup noun	In various games, the fielding or hitting of a ball just after it strikes the ground.
nursery noun	A club or team for developing the skills of young players.
interference noun	The illegal obstruction of an opponent in some ball games.
trainer noun	A person responsible for treating injuries sustained by players during matches; a physiotherapist.
graveyard noun	A team where players are sent when they are not useful, or a team where players become useless if sent there.
substitute verb	To remove (a player) from the field of play and bring on another in his place.
retrieve verb	To make a difficult but successful return of the ball.
skeleton noun	A type of tobogganing in which competitors lie face down, and descend head first.
dynasty noun	A team or organization which has an extended period of success or dominant performance.
rental noun	A player traded to a team with a year or less on his contract
dismiss verb	To get a batsman out.
coverage noun	Defense.
ping verb	To bounce.
turf noun	A racetrack, hippodrome; or the sport of racing horses.
tackle noun	A play where a player attempts to take control over the ball from an opponent, as in rugby or football.
lifting noun	Weightlifting; a form of exercise in which weights are lifted
steals noun	The number of stolen bases by a baserunner.
creator noun	A player who creates opportunities for their team to score goals; a playmaker.
whites noun	Cricket whites.
app noun	An appearance in a game.
glance noun	A stroke in which the ball is hit with a bat held in a slanted manner.
willow noun	A cricket bat.
server noun	The player who serves the ball.
promote verb	To elevate to a higher league.
grind verb	To slide the flat portion of a skateboard or snowboard across an obstacle such as a railing.
slick noun	A tire with a smooth surface instead of a tread pattern, often used in auto racing.
breakthrough noun	The penetration of the opposition's defence.
pickle noun	A rundown.
tickle noun	A light tap of the ball.
q noun	Conditional qualification
loft noun	The pitch or slope of the face of a golf club (tending to drive the ball upward).
flick noun	A powerful underarm volley shot.
muffin noun	A less talented player; one who muffs, or drops the ball.

Word	Meaning
marker noun	A player on defense used to mark one or more offensive players.
rover noun	The tenth defensive player in slow-pitch softball.
colt noun	A professional cricketer during his first season.
consolation noun	A consolation goal.
convert verb	To score (especially a penalty kick).
skiing noun	A group of sports utilizing skis as primary equipment.
overhead adjective	Kicked over one's own head
cutter noun	A ball that moves sideways in the air, or off the pitch, because it has been cut.
rodeo noun	A North American sport involving skills with horses, cows and other livestock.
nod verb	To head; to strike the ball with one's head.
chalk noun	The favorite in a sporting event.
hazard noun	A sand or water obstacle on a golf course.
declaration noun	The act, by the captain of a batting side, of declaring an innings closed.
intercept verb	To gain possession of (the ball) in a ball game
pitcher noun	The player who delivers the ball to the batter.
comeback noun	An occurrence of an athlete or sports team in a competition overcoming a substantial disadvantage in points to win or draw.
batter noun	The player attempting to hit the ball with a bat.
prospect noun	Any player whose rights are owned by a top-level professional team, but who has yet to play a game for said team.
slips noun	The area of the field covered by fielders in the slip positions; the slip fielders collectively
penthouse noun	Any of the sloping roofs at the side of a real tennis court.
upright noun	A goal post.
flank noun	The wing, one side of the pitch.
bumper noun	A bouncer.
slash noun	A wild swinging strike of the bat.
fireman noun	A relief pitcher (reflecting the figurative analogy of rescuing the situation).
booking noun	The issuing of a caution which is usually written down in a book, and results in a yellow card or (after two bookings) a red card, that is to say, the player is sent from the field of play.
rook noun	A rookie.
flare noun	A low fly ball that is hit in the region between the infielders and the outfielders.
referee noun	An umpire or judge; an official who makes sure the rules are followed during a game.
rejection noun	A blocked shot.
cork verb	To tamper with (a bat) by drilling out part of the head and filling the cavity with cork or similar light, compressible material.
flyer noun	A false start
hacking noun	A kick in the shins.
birdie noun	The completion of a hole one stroke below par.
hybrid noun	A golf club that combines the characteristics of an iron and a wood.
knockout noun	A tournament in which a team or player must beat the opponent in order to progress to the next round.
pea noun	A ball travelling at high velocity.
venue noun	A stadium or similar building in which a sporting competition is held.
tee noun	A flat area of ground from which players hit their first shots on a golf hole.
screening noun	Shielding.
procession noun	The rapid dismissal of a series of batsmen.
derby noun	A sports match between rival teams.
heave noun	A forceful shot in which the ball follows a high trajectory
jab noun	A short straight punch.
thumping noun	A heavy defeat.
attacker noun	One of the players on a team in football (soccer) in the row nearest to the opposing team's goal, who are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals.
holder noun	The defending champion.
backward adjective	On that part of the field behind the batsman's popping crease.
heater noun	A fastball, especially one thrown at high velocity.
par noun	The allotted number of strokes to reach the hole.
defender noun	One of the players whose primary task is to prevent the opposition from scoring.
boundary noun	An edge or line marking an edge of the playing field.
darts noun	A game or sport in which darts are thrown at a board, and points are scored depending on where the darts land
clash noun	Match; a game between two sides.
derrick verb	To remove (a pitcher).
rotation noun	The set of starting pitchers of a team.
scatter verb	Of a pitcher: to keep down the number of hits or walks.
diver noun	A competitor in certain sports who is known to regularly imitate being fouled, with the purpose of getting his/her opponent penalised.
starter noun	A starting pitcher.
batting noun	The action of using a bat.
singles noun	A game between individual players
intersection noun	The element where two or more straight lines of synchronized skaters pass through each other.
supplier noun	Someone who assists (sets up) a goal.
rugby noun	(specifically) The form of the game known as rugby union (see the usage note).
zebra noun	A referee.
gardening noun	The act of a batsman prodding at the pitch with his bat, typically in order to flatten any bumps.
baton noun	An object transferred by runners in a relay race.
doubles noun	A game between pairs of players
lineup noun	Collectively, the members of a team.
cushion noun	The lip around a table in cue sports which absorbs some of the impact of the billiard balls and bounces them back.
opener noun	A batsman who normally plays in the first two positions of an innings.
franchise noun	The collection of organizations in the history of a sports team; the tradition of a sports team as an entity, extending beyond the contemporary organization.
flop verb	To pretend to be fouled in sports, such as basketball, hockey (the same as to dive in soccer)
bagel noun	A score of 6-0 in a set (after the shape of a bagel, which looks like a zero).
agricultural adjective	As if played with a scythe

Meanings from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0). Sources