Soccer Meaning
/ˈsɒk.ə/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAssociation football.
verbTo kick the football directly off the ground, without using one's hands.
Sentence Examples
You will be able to play soccer.
Our soccer team beat all the other teams in the town.
I played soccer when I was younger.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The kids enjoyed playing ____ on the grass field all afternoon.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The children went to the local field to play a game of ____ with their school friends.
Word Origin & History
Originally British English; as an abbreviation for association football, via abbreviation assoc. + -er (suffix); earlier socker (1885), also socca (1889), with soccer attested 1888. Compare contemporary rugger, from rugby. Similarly constructed coinages from the same period include: brekker (“breakfast”), fresher (“freshman”) and footer (“football”). See Oxford -er.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The 'Varsity played Aston Villa and were beaten after a very exciting game; this was pre-eminently the most important "Socker" game played in Oxford this term."
— 1885 December 26, “Our Oxford Letter”, in The Oldhallian, page 171:
"Golf is perhaps seven or eight years old in Oxford, ... football, seu Rugger, sive Soccer, not more than sixteen or seventeen."
— 1888 February 15, “Charley Symonds”, in The Oxford Magazine, page 224:
"Those who play under the "Socker" (Association) rules in the North of England, the Midlands, and Scotland take no heed of the warmness of the weather"
— 1889 September 16, “Football Prospects in the West of England”, in The Western Daily Press, volume 63, number 9757, Bristol, page 7:
"Socker (public schools), football played according to the Association Rules"
— 1890, Albert Barrère, Charles Leland, A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant, volume 2, Ballantyne, page 275:
"Diehard soccer fans likely have become familiar with England’s Sky Sports News channel over the years."
— 2023 March 8, Jonathan Tannenwald, “CBS is launching a 24/7 soccer channel online”, in The Philadelphia Inquirer:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The kids enjoyed playing ____ on the grass field all afternoon.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The children went to the local field to play a game of ____ with their school friends.