Skip to content

autogol

own goal

noun OW-toh-gohl Rare
Arts & Culture Sports

Origin: Compound of auto- ('self') + gol (from English 'goal').

Also means

self-defeating action

Usage Note

Autogol comes from football: accidentally scoring in one's own net. Like gol, it is invariable — the plural is also autogol (due autogol, 'two own goals'). Figuratively, fare un autogol means to shoot oneself in the foot or to say or do something that backfires badly: è stato un clamoroso autogol politico ('it was a spectacular political own goal'). The figurative use is very common in Italian journalism.

Examples

"Il difensore ha segnato un autogol nel finale."

Natural Translation

The defender scored an own goal in the final minutes.

Explore Italian by topic