forward pass

noun

: a pass (as in football) made in the direction of the opponent's goal

Examples of forward pass in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Completing this process—doing a forward pass with one example and then a backward pass to improve the network’s performance on that example—requires hundreds of billions of mathematical operations. Timothy B. Lee and Sean Trott, Ars Technica, 31 July 2023 Intentional grounding is now allowed as long as the passer is outside of the tackle box and the forward pass reaches the neutral zone. Nate Weitzer, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Aug. 2023 Cumberland's favorite play was the punt, which (at the time) was a viable offensive option in the field-position battle during the infancy of the legal forward pass. Jim Reineking, USA TODAY, 5 Oct. 2022 As Houston rolled through its fourth victory to remain undefeated in 2023, the Roughnecks pulled off the XFL’s first double forward pass of the league’s return season. Mark Inabinett | Minabinett@al.com, al, 12 Mar. 2023 Xavier Arreaga tapping a forward pass to Ruidiaz, who was dead center in the box, the Peruvian beaming a right-footed shot at goal that deflected off a player and had Pumas keeper Alfredo Talavera twisted the wrong way in attempting to make the save. Jayda Evans, Anchorage Daily News, 5 May 2022 Automatic Carpet Cleaner $294 at Overstock Pros Cleans on forward pass, dries on back pass On-board container of oxy stain solution Cons Cord is a little shorter than other full-size models This full-size carpet cleaner from Hoover has plenty of loyal fans. goodhousekeeping.com, 28 Apr. 2023 Two officials positioned at the goal line in front of Casper raised their arms to the sky. Touchdown. Markbreit ruled that Stabler had fumbled rather than intentionally throwing a forward pass, a ruling that would be reviewed and supported a day later by the league office. San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Feb. 2021 Can the Cardinals stop the forward pass? Bob McManaman, The Arizona Republic, 13 Sep. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'forward pass.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of forward pass was in 1890

Dictionary Entries Near forward pass

Cite this Entry

“Forward pass.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forward%20pass. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

forward pass

noun
: a pass in football thrown in the direction of the opponent's goal

More from Merriam-Webster on forward pass

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!