What does goalie mean?
Goalie is an informal noun meaning a goalkeeper, the player responsible for defending a team's goal and preventing the opposition from scoring. It is especially familiar in ice hockey, where it is the standard term for the position, and it is also common in football, soccer, water polo, and other sports with a goal. In North American English, goalie often serves as the everyday alternative to the more formal goalkeeper; in British English, goalkeeper is generally preferred in football, while goalie is particularly associated with hockey. The word can suggest both the player's formal role and the individual identity of the person filling it, as in phrases such as star goalie and backup goalie. Although its meaning is straightforward, goalie is a useful word because it captures a distinctive sporting role in a concise and conversational form.
nounA goalkeeper is the player who protects the goal and tries to prevent the opposing team from scoring. The term is especially common in hockey and in informal North American English, and it is also used in other goal-based sports.
- A player who guards the goal in a sport such as hockey, football, soccer, or water polo.
- A goalkeeper, especially in informal North American usage.
"The goalie made an impressive save to keep the game tied."
"The goalie cleared the puck just before it crossed the line."
"She was the starting goalie for the national team."
The standard plural is goalies.
"The two goalies shared the starting assignment."
A goalie's job is simple to explain—keep the ball out of the net—but often brutally difficult.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of goalie
Goalie was formed in the late nineteenth century from goal and the informal suffix -ie, a productive ending that could create familiar or diminutive forms of nouns. It developed as a colloquial name for a goalkeeper, especially in hockey and other sports. Its lexical relatives include goalkeeper, goaltender, and goalpost, all built on the same English base goal.
How goalie is actually used
Goalie is an informal term, although it is firmly established in sports journalism and everyday speech. It is particularly associated with ice hockey in North America and with hockey more generally in British English.