Rugby or rugby football is a game played by two teams using an oval ball. Players try to score points by carrying the ball to their opponents' end of the field, or by kicking it over a bar fixed between two posts.
rugby in British English
or rugby football (ˈrʌɡbɪ)
noun
1. Also called: rugger
a form of football played with an oval ball in which the handling and carrying of the ball is permitted
2. Canadian another name for Canadian football
Word origin
C19: named after the public school at Rugby, where it was first played
Rugby in British English
(ˈrʌɡbɪ)
noun
a town in central England, in E Warwickshire: famous public school, founded in 1567. Pop: 61 988 (2001)
Rugby in American English1
(ˈrʌgbi)
noun
1.
famous school for boys located in Rugby, England: founded 1567
2. [usuallyr-]
a kind of football popular in England, played by two opposing teams of usually 15 players: action is continuous and the oval ball may be passed laterally or backward, kicked forward, or carried: a forerunner of American tackle football, first played at Rugby school
: in full Rugby football
Rugby in American English2
(ˈrʌgbi)
city in Warwickshire, central England: county district pop. 83,000
Examples of 'rugby' in a sentence
rugby
My point is to show that accidents happen on a rugby field.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
And good rugby comes in many shapes and sizes.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
It is a rarity in rugby league that any encounter should have as its focus the two coaches.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
This is not to say that rugby union is 100 per cent clean and has always been.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
There was no significant difference for runners, cyclists or rugby and football players.
The Sun (2016)
I look at it as general life rather than just a rugby game.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
I rarely watch rugby at home.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
There are a multitude of coaches, back-up coaches and tactical and technical thinkers spending their lives trying to change rugby for the better.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
In a rugby league town there is clearly little demand to witness a piece of footballing history.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Will this be the end of rugby as we know it?
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Such a view may seem anathema in rugby union.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Does not host a regular football or rugby team.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Sometimes it is as if we are watching a rugby world cup instead.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
We are going to honour that by playing hard rugby on the field.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
International rugby comes easily to this prodigy.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Great rugby league players turned great rugby union players are thin on the ground.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Sponsors can go elsewhere with their money and rugby will end up the loser.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
He told me to come along and try rugby.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
There could be a serious injury on the rugby field.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
How come rugby players are getting bigger and bigger and bigger?
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
It is a scenario they played out in their schoolboy games of rugby league in their back garden.
The Sun (2010)
Rugby league needs to adapt and move with the times and that means listening to the players more.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Rugby union has lost its manners.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
She can hardly watch rugby games.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
The first half was the best rugby we've played for some time.
The Sun (2010)
Sundays were the worst, with two of them playing football and one playing rugby.
The Sun (2014)
Members receive exclusive football, rugby and cricket highlights free as part of their subscription.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Then we'll play a game of rugby league.
The Sun (2011)
I would love to play rugby there but we need to get our standard up first.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
In other languages
rugby
British English: rugby /ˈrʌɡbɪ/ NOUN
Rugby is a game played by two teams, who try to get an oval ball past a line at their opponents' end of the pitch.
American English: rugby
Arabic: رُكْبِي
Brazilian Portuguese: rúgbi
Chinese: 橄榄球
Croatian: ragbi
Czech: ragby
Danish: rugby
Dutch: rugby
European Spanish: rugby
Finnish: rugby
French: rugby
German: Rugby
Greek: ράγκμπι
Italian: rugby
Japanese: ラグビー
Korean: 럭비
Norwegian: rugby
Polish: rugby
European Portuguese: râguebi
Romanian: rugbi
Russian: регби
Latin American Spanish: rugby
Swedish: rugby
Thai: กีฬารักบี้
Turkish: rugbi
Ukrainian: регбі
Vietnamese: môn bóng bầu dục
All related terms of 'rugby'
rugby head
a male follower of rugby culture
rugby shirt
a jersey , usually of brightly colored striped fabric with a white collar and placket , worn for playing rugby or as casual attire
rugby union
a form of rugby football played between teams of 15 players
touch rugby
a limited-contact version of rugby in which players seek to evade being touched ( rather than tackled ) while in possession of the ball
pyjama rugby
an uncomplimentary term for the Super 12 Rugby Union competition that involves teams from South Africa, Australia , and New Zealand , and which is noted for its free-flowing nature and lack of attritional play between the forwards
rugby league
a form of rugby football played between teams of 13 players
rugby player
a person who plays rugby
rugby tackle
A rugby tackle is a way of making someone fall over by throwing your arms around their legs or hips .