line of scrimmage

noun phrase

: an imaginary line in football that is parallel to the goal lines and tangent to the nose of the ball laid on the ground and marks the position of the ball at the start of each down

Examples of line of scrimmage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

It was left dormant a year ago, when Mahomes graded 26th among 27 qualifying quarterbacks on throws of 20-plus yards beyond the line of scrimmage, per PFF data. — Sam McDowell 7, Kansas City Star, 7 Oct. 2026

There was some trouble for the Lions at the line of scrimmage. — Charlotte Observer, 5 Oct. 2026

Toward the line of scrimmage, freshman running back Jonaz Walton snapped off another 5 yards in his career day. — Pete Sampson, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026

That Missouri man entered into a scrum at the line of scrimmage. — Noah White, Miami Herald, 4 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1909, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for line of scrimmage

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Kids Definition

line of scrimmage

: an imaginary line in football parallel to the goal lines and running through the place the ball is laid before each play begins