footballs

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of football.

   The students stuffed a dozen footballs into the equipment bag after practice.

   Worn-out footballs lined the shelf in the old sporting goods shop.

   Note

   In practice, this is a plural of the ball rather than the game. The regional games are uncountable: association football in the UK and the American and Canadian codes. So a dozen footballs are a dozen balls. Only the broad idea of a sport played on foot can be counted, as when different footballs are compared. The same spelling also serves as the verb's present-tense form. A number or determiner in front marks the noun.

2. 2
   verbrare

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of football. The verb is rare.

   Note

   A rare verb in any form: to football is simply to play the game, and it takes no object. You can say he footballs with friends, but not he footballs the ball. Because it is so uncommon, plays football is usually the safer choice. Footballs as a verb can easily be misread as the plural noun until the rest of the sentence settles it.

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