goalpost

See also: goal post

English

A goalpost in American football

Etymology

From goal +‎ post.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɡəʊlpəʊst/, /ˈɡɔʊl-/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɡoʊlpoʊst/
• Hyphenation: goal‧post
• Rhymes: -əʊst

Noun

goalpost (plural goalposts)

1. (sports) One of the two vertical side poles of a goal.
   • 2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 107:

     Some kids were having a kickabout on the grass beside the walkway, cheering, groaning, calling for the ball, absorbed in the game, a self-contained universe marked out by jackets for goalposts and invisible touchlines.

2. (sports, American football) The tall Y-shaped upright, now usually of fiberglass, at either end of the playing field, through which a football must go in order for a field goal to be scored. (They were originally H-shaped, with one wooden post on either side.)
3. A rule or target that is "moved" (changed) unfairly; see move the goalposts.
   • 2012, Sarah L. Holloway, Mark Jayne, Gill Valentine, Alcohol, Drinking, Drunkenness: (Dis)Orderly Spaces, page 55:

     […] whatever you eat, how much you drink, you know the goalposts keep moving all the time, and it's difficult to be sure that, but I don't think it's harmful, not the amount I drink.

Derived terms

• jumpers for goalposts
• move the goalposts

Translations

vertical side pole of a goal

• Armenian: ուղղահայաց դարպասաձող (uġġahayacʻ darpasajoġ), շտանգա (hy) (štanga) (colloquial)
• Catalan: pal de la porteria (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 門柱／门柱 (zh) (ménzhù)

• Faroese: stong (fo) f, málstong f
• Finnish: maalitolppa (fi), tolppa (fi)
• French: poteau (fr) m, poteau de but
• Georgian: სპორტული (sṗorṭuli), კარების ძელი (ḳarebis ʒeli)
• German: Torpfosten (de) m
• Greek: κάθετο δοκάρι n (kátheto dokári)
• Icelandic: marksúla f, markstöng f
• Indonesian: tiang gawang
• Ingrian: rajapatsas
• Italian: palo (it) m
• Japanese: ゴールポスト (ja) (gōruposuto)
• Korean: 골포스트 (golposeuteu), 골대 (goldae)
• Malay: gawang (ms)
• Malayalam: ഗോൾ പോസ്റ്റ് (gōḷ pōsṟṟŭ)
• Maori: pou piro, pou ūhanga (netball)
• Norwegian: målstang m or f, stang (no) m or f
• Polish: słupek (pl) m
• Portuguese: trave (pt) f
• Romanian: ștachetă (ro) f
• Russian: шта́нга (ru) f (štánga)
• Scottish Gaelic: post-bàire m
• Swedish: stolpe (sv) c, målstolpe (sv) c
• Zulu: uthi class 11/10

Further reading

• goal (sport) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• go postal