English Meaning & Definitions
A practice game between two teams, especially in American football or basketball, played without the full formality of a regular match.
- “The coach used Friday's scrimmage to evaluate the new rookies under game-like conditions.”
- “The varsity team easily won the preseason scrimmage against the junior varsity.”
A confused struggle, fight, or tussle.
- “After the whistle blew, a brief scrimmage broke out near the goal line.”
- “He emerged from the physical scrimmage with a torn jersey and a bruised elbow.”
To take part in a practice game or a rough, informal struggle.
- “The offense and defense will scrimmage for forty minutes this afternoon.”
- “The players began to scrimmage before the coaches stopped them due to an injury.”
English Synonyms & Near Equivalents
Comprehensive Thesaurus Breakdown
Compare formal, informal, literary synonyms and register nuances for “scrimmage”.
Originating in the late Middle English period as an alteration of 'skirmish' (from Old French 'eskremir', meaning 'to fence or skirmish'), influenced by words ending in '-age'. Over time, the term evolved from referring to a confused fight or skirmish into a specific term for a practice game in sports like football.
Think of a 'SCRAP' and a 'MESSAGE' combined: players send a rough message to each other during a practice scrap.
Frequently Asked Questions About “scrimmage”
1. What is the meaning of “scrimmage” in English?
In English, scrimmage (noun) is defined as: “A practice game between two teams, especially in American football or basketball, played without the full formality of a regular match.”.
2. How do you use “scrimmage” in a sentence?
“The coach used Friday's scrimmage to evaluate the new rookies under game-like conditions.”
3. What are English synonyms of “scrimmage”?
4. What is the etymology and word origin of “scrimmage”?
Originating in the late Middle English period as an alteration of 'skirmish' (from Old French 'eskremir', meaning 'to fence or skirmish'), influenced by words ending in '-age'. Over time, the term evolved from referring to a confused fight or skirmish into a specific term for a practice game in sports like football.
🇬🇧More English Words to English
View all English words →A measurement of time indicating an instantaneous occurrence or a state where no time has elapsed.
The base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), equal to the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom.
A specific duration of time equal to one hour and forty-six minutes and twelve seconds.
The cardinal number equal to one thousand million (1,000,000,000), expressed in scientific notation as 10^9.