⚽ Sports Vocabulary

Part 1: Sports Collocations

Collocations are words that naturally go together. Master these to talk about sports like a pro!

Collocation	Example	Meaning
play football	"I play football every weekend."	Participate in team sports
do yoga	"She does yoga three times a week."	Practice individual activities
go swimming	"Let's go swimming!"	Participate in -ing sports
win a match	"We won the match 3-1!"	Be victorious
score a goal	"He scored a brilliant goal!"	Get points
break a record	"She broke the world record!"	Achieve new best

Play - Use for team sports (football, basketball, tennis)

Do - Use for individual activities (yoga, karate, gymnastics)

Go - Use for -ing sports (swimming, running, skiing)

1. I football every Saturday.

2. She yoga in the morning.

3. Let's swimming!

4. He a goal!

5. We the match 2-0.

Idioms are expressions with meanings different from the literal words. These sports idioms are super common!

Move the goalposts - Change the rules unfairly
"They keep moving the goalposts!"
On the ball - Alert and competent
"She's really on the ball today."
Throw in the towel - Give up
"I'm not throwing in the towel yet!"
Level playing field - Fair competition
"We need a level playing field."
Hit it out of the park - Do something extremely well
"You really hit it out of the park!"
Jump the gun - Start too early
"Don't jump the gun!"
Par for the course - Normal/expected
"That's par for the course."
Get the ball rolling - Start something
"Let's get the ball rolling!"

1. Don't throw in the !

2. She's really on the today.

3. Don't jump the !

4. They keep moving the .

5. You hit it out of the !

Phrasal verbs are verbs combined with prepositions or adverbs that create new meanings!

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example
warm up	Prepare for exercise	"Always warm up before running."
work out	Exercise	"I work out at the gym daily."
give up	Stop trying	"Never give up!"
knock out	Eliminate from competition	"They were knocked out in the semi-final."
catch up	Reach the same level	"We need to catch up with the leaders."
take up	Start a sport/hobby	"I took up tennis last year."
cool down	Relax after exercise	"Don't forget to cool down!"
drop out	Quit competition	"He dropped out of the race."

1. Always up before exercise.

2. I out every morning.

3. Don't up!

4. They were out in the final.

5. I up tennis last year.

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