What does dropkicker mean?
A dropkicker is a person who delivers a dropkick: in the kicking codes of football, notably rugby union and rugby league, this means a player who drops the ball and strikes it with the foot as it rebounds from the ground, a skill used for restarts, penalties under old laws, and opportunistic dropped goals. The term is a straightforward agent noun built from 'drop' plus 'kick', so it carries no special connotation beyond its sporting context, though a skilled dropkicker is often admired for composure and timing. In professional wrestling, 'dropkicker' describes a performer who relies on the dropkick — a leaping two-footed strike — as a signature move, and fans may single out particularly gifted exponents of the technique. The word remains informal and context-bound: outside sport it is rarely used, and readers encountering it should expect a rugby pitch or a wrestling ring nearby.
nounA person who executes a dropkick — a kick made by dropping the ball and kicking it as it bounces, especially in rugby or Australian rules football; in professional wrestling, a performer known for using the jumping kick strike called the dropkick.
- A player who takes kicks by dropping the ball and striking it as (or just after) it touches the ground, as in rugby or Gaelic football.
- In professional wrestling, a wrestler who frequently uses the dropkick maneuver.
"The team's veteran dropkicker calmly slotted the goal from forty metres out."
"Renowned as the finest dropkicker of his era, he never missed from inside the twenty-two."
"The masked dropkicker sent his opponent staggering back with a perfectly timed flying kick."
Regular plural; used when referring to multiple players or performers.
"Both teams fielded reliable dropkickers throughout the tournament."
In rugby's early days, every kicker was a dropkicker — the placekick we take for granted today was once the rare alternative.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of dropkicker
Dropkicker is a modern English agent noun formed transparently from the verb phrase 'drop-kick', which emerged in the nineteenth century alongside the codification of rugby football. Both components are native Germanic English words — 'drop' from Middle English 'droppen', and 'kick', attested from the late Middle Ages, possibly of Scandinavian origin. The compound spread wherever drop-kicking was practiced, from British rugby to Australian rules and later American professional wrestling.
Related word forms
How dropkicker is actually used
The word is informal to neutral and almost always appears in sports contexts — primarily rugby union/league and other kicking codes for sense one, and wrestling fan discussion for sense two. It is an ordinary agent-noun formation ('one who dropkicks') rather than a formal dictionary headword in most general dictionaries.
Easily confused with dropkicker
A placekicker kicks a ball held stationary on the ground or on a tee, whereas a dropkicker kicks it after dropping it and letting it bounce.