onside kick

noun

: a kickoff in football in which the ball travels just far enough to be legally recoverable by the kicking team

Examples of onside kick in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The Bears had no choice but to try an onside kick, and Josh Blackwell recovered it. CBS News, 21 Dec. 2025 The play was one of several back-breaking miscues by the Packers late in the fourth quarter and overtime that caused first place in the NFC North to slip right through their fingertips, just like the Bears’ onside kick did to wide receiver Romeo Doubs. Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2025 Only having two timeouts left, Chicago called an onside kick after its last field goal, and the Bears recovered it after Doubs couldn’t corral the ball. Rohan Nadkarni, NBC news, 21 Dec. 2025 Newton had three chances to recover the ensuing onside kick that seemed to bound around forever before Wall’s Jacob Braden secured it allowing the Hawks to run out the clock. Charles Baggarly & Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for onside kick

Word History

First Known Use

1895, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of onside kick was in 1895

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Onside kick.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/onside%20kick. Accessed 3 Jan. 2026.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!