Proper noun

Singular American football

Plural -

American football

1. A game similar to rugby football in which two teams attempt to get an ovoid ball into each other's territory. Called football in the United States and Canada and American football elsewhere in the world.

American football, known in the United States simply as football and often as gridiron outside the United States, is a competitive team sport. The objective of the game is to score points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. The ball can be advanced by carrying it (a running play) or by throwing it to a teammate (a passing play). Points can be scored in a variety of ways, including carrying the ball over the opponent's goal line, catching a pass thrown over that goal line, kicking the ball through the goal posts at the opponent's end zone, or tackling an opposing ball carrier within his end zone. The winner is the team with the most points when the time expires.

American football is closely related to Canadian football but with some differences in rules and in the configuration of the field.

In the United States, the major forms are high school football, college football and professional football, which are essentially similar but feature slightly different rules.

High school football is governed in the U.S. by the National Federation of State High School Associations. College football is governed in the U.S. by two bodies: the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. The major league for professional football is the National Football League. Over the years, there have been other notable professional football leagues, including the All America Football Conference during the 1940s, the American Football League during the 1960s, the United States Football League during the 1980s, and the currently active United Football League.

The sport is also played outside the United States. National and collegiate leagues exist in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, Japan, Mexico, Israel, Spain, Austria, and several other European, American, Asian and Pacific Island nations. The International Federation of American Football acts as an international governing body for the sport on five continents, but the organization has little standing in the United States compared to the aforementioned bodies and leagues.