What does eagled mean?
"Eagled" is the past tense and past participle of the golfing verb "to eagle." In golf, an eagle is a score of two strokes under par on a single hole, achieved either by holing an exceptional long putt, chipping in from off the green, or reaching the green in fewer strokes than expected and converting the putt. To say a player "eagled the twelfth" means she completed that hole in two strokes under its designated par — for instance, finishing a par-five in three shots. The word carries strongly positive connotations in sporting contexts, signalling skill, boldness, and often a dramatic shift in momentum, since eagles are comparatively rare even among professionals. The verb belongs to a small family of golf terms converted from nouns, alongside "birdied" and, more loosely, "aced." Beyond golf, "eagled" occasionally serves as the ordinary past tense when eagles as birds perform some action, though such literal use is uncommon. The word is standard in both British and American English and is found chiefly in match reports, broadcasts, and players' recollections of their finest rounds.
verbPast tense and past participle of the verb "eagle": to score an eagle on a hole in golf, that is, to complete a hole in two strokes under par.
- (Golf) To have scored an eagle on a hole: completing it in two strokes under par.
"She eagled the par-five eighteenth to snatch a one-shot lead."
"He eagled the long par five with a soaring approach shot that dropped within inches of the cup."
"Having eagled the tenth, she suddenly found herself contending for the championship."
In golf commentary, "eagled" is one of the rare verbs born from a bird's name — you don't just get an eagle, you eagle the hole.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of eagled
The verb derives from the noun "eagle," from Middle English "egle," borrowed from Old French "aigle," ultimately from Latin "aquila," meaning eagle. The golfing sense arose in late nineteenth- to early twentieth-century Scotland, where scores were given bird names: a "birdie" for one under par, and by extension an "eagle," a bigger and rarer bird, for two under par. The noun was then converted into a verb, yielding forms such as "eagled" and "eagling." Cognates of the underlying noun include Spanish "águila" and Italian "aquila."
Related word forms
How eagled is actually used
"Eagled" is used almost exclusively in golf contexts and sports journalism. It is the simple past and past participle of "to eagle," which is itself a conversion of the noun "eagle" into a verb. Outside of golf, the form appears only as the past tense in literal senses involving eagles, which are rare.
Easily confused with eagled
"Besieged" means surrounded or overwhelmed by hostile forces, while "eagled" refers to scoring two strokes under par on a golf hole; they share only a similar ending sound.