line of scrimmage

English

a line of scrimmage, before a play

Noun

line of scrimmage (plural lines of scrimmage)

1. (American football) Either of two imaginary lines across the football field touching one of the two apices of the football which point toward either the defensive side or the offensive side before the center is allowed to touch the ball before each play.

Usage notes

• The term line of scrimmage is used for both the line on the offensive side (offensive line of scrimmage) and the one on the defensive side (defensive line of scrimmage). The zone in between the two lines of scrimmage is called neutral zone. The defensive line of scrimmage is used by the head linesman and his assistants to measure advancements (gains or losses) of the football along the football field.

Derived terms

• offensive line of scrimmage

Translations

American football

• Catalan: línia de scrimmage (ca) f
• Italian: linea di scrimmage f
• Portuguese: linha de scrimmage f
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} linie de bătaie (ro) f, ^{(please verify)} linie de luptă (ro) f