score

plural scores

1. The total number of goals, points, runs, etc. earned by a participant in a game.

   The player with the highest score is the winner.

2. The number of points accrued by each of the participants in a game, expressed as a ratio or a series of numbers.

   The score is 8-1 even though it's not even half-time!

3. The performance of an individual or group on an examination or test, expressed by a number, letter, or other symbol; a grade.

   The test scores for this class were high.

   1 more example

   The study not only showed IQ variance between children the same parents, but because the authors had the IQ scores of various parents, it demonstrated that parents with higher IQs tended to have more kids, ruling out the dysgenic fertility theory as a driver of falling IQ scores and highlighting the role of environmental factors instead.

   2018 June 13, Rory Smith, “IQ scores are falling and have been for decades, new study finds”, in CNN

4. Twenty (20).

   I went on trying for fish along the western bank down the river, but only small trout rose at my flies, and a score was the total catch.

   1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Braekstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 152

   1 more example

   Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

   1863 November 19, Abraham Lincoln, Dedicatory Remarks (Gettysburg Address)^(https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Gettysburg_Address_(Bliss_copy)), near Soldiers' National Cemetery, →LCCN, Bliss copy, page 1

   1. A distance of twenty yards, in ancient archery and gunnery.

      At Markes full fortie score they vs'd to Prick and Roue.

      1612, Michael Drayton, chapter 26, in [John Selden], editor, Poly-Olbion. Or A Chorographicall Description of Tracts, Riuers, Mountaines, Forests, and Other Parts of this Renowned Isle of Great Britaine, […], London: […] [Humphrey Lownes] for M[athew] Lownes; I[ohn] Browne; I[ohn] Helme; I[ohn] Busbie, →OCLC

   2. A weight of twenty pounds.
   3. A period of twenty years.
   4. UKslangTwenty pounds sterling.

      DEVLIN:You know the apple and core. Head might cost you a score, or more if you want a meat show on all fours.

      2012 September 9, “Deepest Shame (New Machine Remix)”, performed by Plan B,Chip,Devlin

5. in pluraloftenA great deal; many, several.

   Some words have scores of meanings.

6. gamblingAn amount of money won in gambling; winnings.

   Use a few “introductory plays” to become known to a casino before you go for a big score.

   2013, Arnold Snyder, Big Book of Blackjack

7. entertainmentThe written form of a musical composition showing all instrumental and vocal parts.
8. entertainmentThe music of a movie or play.

   1 more example

   Even without hovering drones, a lurking assassin, a thumping score and a denouement, the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a rogue spy on the run, could be straight out of the cinema. But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee.

   2013 June 29, “Travels and travails”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 55

9. A subject.

   Well, although we haven't discussed the views of all those who make precise reckonings of being and not [being], we've done enough on that score.

   2005, Plato, translated by Lesley Brown, Sophist, page 245e

10. An account; a reason; a motive; a sake; a behalf.

    You act your kindneſs on Cydaria’s ſcore.

    1665 (first performance), John Dryden, The Indian Emperour, or, The Conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards. […], London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for H[enry] Herringman […], published 1667, →OCLC, Act V, scene ii, page 65

    2 more examples

    But left the trade, as many more / Have lately done on the same score.

    1662 (indicated as 1663), [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, 1905, →OCLC

    The local village priest is expected to pass through the Holi bonfire, which, in the opinion of the faithful, cannot burn him. Indeed he holds his land rent-free simply on the score of his being fire-proof.

    1900, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, volume 3, page 306

11. A notch or incision; especially, one that is made as a tally mark; hence, a mark, or line, made for the purpose of account.

    Whereas, before, our forefathers had no other books but the score and the tally, thou hast caused printing to be used.

    1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene vii]

12. An account or reckoning; account of dues; bill; debt.

    He parted well, and paid his score.

    c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene viii]

13. A criminal act, especially:
    1. USslangcrimeA robbery.

       Let's pull a score!

       1 more example

       Batman: Dangerous crowd you're stealing from. Catwoman: Jesus. Is this how you get your kicks, hon? Sneaking up on girls in the dark? Batman: Is that why you work in the club? It was all just a score?

       2022, Matt Reeves, Peter Craig, The Batman

    2. USslangcrimeA bribe paid to a police officer.
    3. USslangcrimeAn illegal sale, especially of drugs.

       He made a big score.

    4. USslangcrimeA prostitute's client.

       Synonyms: prostitute's client

14. slangvulgarA sexual conquest.

    Ah, who gives a shit? The only score I'm interested in is the one I might make if some foxy chicks start pilin' outta there.

    1976, William C. Thomas, Cat Murkil and the Silks, spoken by Punch

15. UKregionalIn the Lowestoft area, a narrow pathway running down a cliff to the beach.

    Above the harbour, steeply up the hill, run The Bolts, narrow stepped passages, equivalent of The Scores of Lowestoft and The Rows of Great Yarmouth.

    1975, John Seymour, The Companion Guide to the Coast of North-east England, page 206

16. A document which systematically lists differences among compiled manuscripts of a source text.

    1 more example

    Robson counted 92 exemplars of Gilgamesh and Huwawa A and 59 of Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld (“Tablet House,” 54). Since that time, several joins have reduced the number of distinct copies, so that Delnero’s score for Gilgamesh and Huwawa A now includes 85 total, mostly of the Type III extract category (Variation in Sumerian Literary Compositions: A Case Study Based on the Decad, University of Pennsylvania Ph.D., 2006).

    2010, Daniel E. Fleming and Sara J. Milstein, The Buried Foundation of the Gilgamesh Epic, page 8

present singular third person scores · participle present scoring · participle past scored · past scored · first person past singular scored · archaic present second person singular scorest · past second person singular scored · archaic past second person singular scoredst · present singular third person scores · archaic present singular third person scoreth · past singular third person scored · past plural scored · past subjunctive scored · participle present scoring · participle past scored

1. transitiveTo cut a notch or a groove in a surface.

   The baker scored the cake so that the servers would know where to slice it.

   1 more example

   A very neat old woman, still in her good outdoor coat and best beehive hat, was sitting at a polished mahogany table on whose surface there were several scored scratches so deep that a triangular piece of the veneer had come cleanly away,[…].

   1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC

   Synonyms: groove, notch

2. intransitiveTo record the tally of points for a game, a match, or an examination.

   Synonyms: keep, tally

3. ambitransitiveTo obtain something desired.

   In the past decade gay people have scored a number of significant advances.

   1982 February 13, Wayne Dynes, “Unnatural”, in Gay Community News, volume 9, number 29, page 4

   1 more example

   "Of course it would be hypocritical for me to pretend that I regret what Abraham did. After all, I've scored by it."

   1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, “chapter 50”, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC

   1. ambitransitiveTo earn points in a game.

      Pelé scores again!

      2 more examples

      It is unusual for a team to score a hundred goals in one game.

      And White Hart Lane was stunned when Rovers scored just five minutes after the restart in front of their away following.

      2011 September 29, Jon Smith, “Tottenham 3 - 1 Shamrock Rovers”, in BBC Sport

   2. ambitransitiveTo achieve academic credit on a test, quiz, homework, assignment, or course.

      No, Butthead, that's my point. You didn't score. You got a zero.

      1996 March 5, Mike Judge, “Substitute”, in Beavis and Butthead, season 6, episode 18, Mr. Van Driessen (actor)

      2 more examples

      At the end of first grade, the children scored 80 percent correct on this test, a value that remained unchanged through third grade.

      2004, Diane McGuinness, Early reading instruction: what science really tells us about how to teach reading

      Intelligence is heritable, and for a long time, researchers assumed that people with high IQ scores would have kids who also scored above average.

      2018 June 13, Rory Smith, “IQ scores are falling and have been for decades, new study finds”, in CNN

   3. ambitransitivegamblingTo win money by gambling.

      […] he scored big by hitting the jack pot at the Bellagio (he won $7,000). The next day, he won $15,000 on the nickel machines at the Palm Casino!

      2005, Shannon Nash, For the Love of Money, page 215

   4. ambitransitiveslangTo acquire or gain.

      I scored some drugs last night.

      3 more examples

      Did you score tickets for the concert?

      What am I doing in this place? / Why does the doctor have no face? / Oh, I can't crawl across the floor / Ah, can't you see, Sister Morphine, I'm trying to score

      1971, Jagger–Richards, Marianne Faithfull, “Sister Morphine”, in Sticky Fingers, performed by The Rolling Stones

      I jump up, bubble up, what's in store? / Love is the drug and I need to score

      1975, Andy Mackay, Bryan Ferry, “Love Is the Drug”, performed by Roxy Music

      Synonyms: come by

   5. USambitransitiveslangcrimeTo extract a bribe.

      Synonyms: shake down

   6. ambitransitiveslangvulgarTo obtain a sexual favor.

      Chris finally scored with Pat last week.

      2 more examples

      Gotta find a chick who'll give you more / Well, there's a spot that I've discovered / Where a guy's guaranteed to score

      1982, “Prowlin'”, in Domenic Bugatti, Frank Muskeer, Christopher Cerf (lyrics), Grease 2

      A red-blooded American male who once scored with reality TV stars, he [Sean Duffy] is now a devoted dad with his own chicken coop and beehives, publicly pledging his commitment to his wife and their old Chrysler minivan.

      2025 June 23, Caroline Kitchener, “The MTV Reality Star in Trump’s Cabinet Who Wants You to Have More Kids”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

      Synonyms: pull

4. transitiveTo rate; to evaluate the quality of.

   Critics scored the game 92%.

   1 more example

   […] this was the case for most students, who scored it highly (medians of 4 with many scores of 5) […]

   2007, Cross-Cultural Urban Design: Global or Local Practice?, page 197

5. transitivebroadcastingTo provide (a film, etc.) with a musical score.

   Robertson scored several of Scorsese’s films, including Raging Bull, Casino, The Wolf of Wall Street and The Irishman.

   2023 August 10, Adrian Horton, “Robbie Robertson, member of the Band, dies at age 80”, in The Guardian, UK

   1 more example

   Godfather II is nothing like ready. It is not yet scored, and thus not mixed. There remain additional shooting, looping, editing.

   1974, New York Magazine, volume 7, number 45, page 98

   Synonyms: soundtrack

6. ambitransitivehobbiesTo return (a horse and rider) to the starting-point repeatedly, until a fair start is achieved.

   […] and the scoring for a start by these "inferior" horses would kill a thoroughbred. As an instance, in the 2:27 race at Cleveland, last summer, twelve horses scored seventeen times before they got a fair start.

   1878, John H. Wallace, Wallace's Monthly, volume 4, page 18

1. USslangAn acknowledgement of success.