1 [mass noun] any of various forms of team game involving kicking (and in some cases also handling) a ball, in particular (in the UK) soccer or (in the US) American football: [as modifier]:a football cluba football match
the playing of football, especially in a stylish and entertaining way:his team played some impressive football
2a ball used in football, either round (as in soccer) or oval (as in rugby and American football) and typically made of leather or plastic and filled with compressed air.
a topical issue that is the subject of continued argument or controversy:the use of education as a political football
Derivatives
footballer
noun
footballing
adjective
football in other Oxford dictionaries
Definition of football in the US English dictionary
