open play

noun

The period of play outside set pieces; the phase where possession can change by passing and tackling.

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Meanings

nounopen play (plural open plays)

plural open plays

  1. especiallyball gamesThe period of play outside set pieces; the phase where possession can change by passing and tackling.

    Orient's tended to result from set pieces, whilst Ebbsfleet's came from open play.

    2020 August 6, Steve Leach, Twenty Football Towns, Saraband, →ISBN
    2 more examples

    We've struggled to score goals in open play since early March which contributed to our promotion hopes falling away last season.

    2010 November 2, Phil Merrick, Bleed White: The fall and rise of Leeds United... to be continued, AuthorHouse, →ISBN

    A dropped goal is a kick at goal in open play and can be taken from anywhere on the pitch and by any player within the team.

    2015 August 27, Gavin Hickie, Eilidh Donaldson, Rugby Revealed: Reaching Your Rugby Potential, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 222
Cite this entry
APA

open play. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/open%20play

MLA

“open play.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/open%20play. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “open play,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/open%20play.

Source: open play on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.