score

See also: scoré

English

Etymology

From Middle English score, skore, schore, from Old English scoru (“notch; tally; score”), from Old Norse skor, from Proto-Germanic *skurō (“incision; tear; rift”), which is related to *skeraną (“to cut”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“cut”). Cognate with Icelandic skora, Swedish skåra, Danish skår. Related to shear.

For the sense “twenty”: The mark on a tally made by drovers for every twenty beasts passing through a tollgate.

Pronunciation

Noun

score (plural scores or score)

English numbers (edit)
 ←  10 20
2[a], [b]
    Cardinal: twenty
    Ordinal: twentieth
    Abbreviated ordinal: 20th
    Adverbial: twenty times
    Multiplier: twentyfold
    Germanic collective: score
    Greek collective prefix: icosa-, icosi-
    Latinate collective prefix: viginti-
  2. The total number of goals, points, runs, etc. earned by a participant in a game.
    The player with the highest score is the winner.
  3. The number of points accrued by each of the participants in a game, expressed as a ratio or a series of numbers.
    The score is 8-1 even though it's not even half-time!
  4. The performance of an individual or group on an examination or test, expressed by a number, letter, or other symbol; a grade.
    The test scores for this class were high.
    • 2018 June 13, Rory Smith, “IQ scores are falling and have been for decades, new study finds”, in CNN‎[1]:
      The study not only showed IQ variance between children the same parents, but because the authors had the IQ scores of various parents, it demonstrated that parents with higher IQs tended to have more kids, ruling out the dysgenic fertility theory as a driver of falling IQ scores and highlighting the role of environmental factors instead.
  5. Twenty (20).
    Some words have scores of meanings.
    • 1863 November 19, Abraham Lincoln, Dedicatory Remarks (Gettysburg Address)‎[2], near Soldiers' National Cemetery, →LCCN, Bliss copy, page 1:
      Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
    • 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 152:
      I went on trying for fish along the western bank down the river, but only small trout rose at my flies, and a score was the total catch.
    1. A distance of twenty yards, in ancient archery and gunnery.
    2. A weight of twenty pounds.
    3. A period of twenty years.
    4. (British, slang) Twenty pounds sterling.
      • 2012 September 9, “Deepest Shame (New Machine Remix)”, performed by Plan B,Chip,Devlin:
        DEVLIN:You know the apple and core. Head might cost you a score, or more if you want a meat show on all fours.
  6. (often in the plural) A great deal; many, several.
  7. (gambling) An amount of money won in gambling; winnings.
    • 2013, Arnold Snyder, Big Book of Blackjack:
      Use a few “introductory plays” to become known to a casino before you go for a big score.
  9. (music) The written form of a musical composition showing all instrumental and vocal parts.
  10. (music) The music of a movie or play.
    • 2013 June 29, “Travels and travails”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 55:
      Even without hovering drones, a lurking assassin, a thumping score and a denouement, the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a rogue spy on the run, could be straight out of the cinema. But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee.
  11. A subject.
    • 2005, Plato, translated by Lesley Brown, Sophist, page 245e:
      Well, although we haven't discussed the views of all those who make precise reckonings of being and not [being], we've done enough on that score.
  12. An account; a reason; a motive; a sake; a behalf.
  13. A notch or incision; especially, one that is made as a tally mark; hence, a mark, or line, made for the purpose of account.
  14. An account or reckoning; account of dues; bill; debt.
  15. (US, slang, crime) A criminal act, especially:
    1. A robbery.
      Let's pull a score!
      • 2022, Matt Reeves, Peter Craig, The Batman:
        Batman: Dangerous crowd you're stealing from.
        Catwoman: Jesus. Is this how you get your kicks, hon? Sneaking up on girls in the dark?
        Batman: Is that why you work in the club? It was all just a score?
    2. A bribe paid to a police officer.
    3. An illegal sale, especially of drugs.
      He made a big score.
    4. A prostitute's client.
  16. (originally US, vulgar, slang) A sexual conquest.
    • 1976, William C. Thomas, Cat Murkil and the Silks, spoken by Punch:
      Ah, who gives a shit? The only score I'm interested in is the one I might make if some foxy chicks start pilin' outta there.
  17. (UK, regional) In the Lowestoft area, a narrow pathway running down a cliff to the beach.
    • 1975, John Seymour, The Companion Guide to the Coast of North-east England, page 206:
      Above the harbour, steeply up the hill, run The Bolts, narrow stepped passages, equivalent of The Scores of Lowestoft and The Rows of Great Yarmouth.
  18. A document which systematically lists differences among compiled manuscripts of a source text.
    • 2010, Daniel E. Fleming and Sara J. Milstein, The Buried Foundation of the Gilgamesh Epic, page 8:
      Robson counted 92 exemplars of Gilgamesh and Huwawa A and 59 of Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld (“Tablet House,” 54). Since that time, several joins have reduced the number of distinct copies, so that Delnero’s score for Gilgamesh and Huwawa A now includes 85 total, mostly of the Type III extract category (Variation in Sumerian Literary Compositions: A Case Study Based on the Decad, University of Pennsylvania Ph.D., 2006).

Usage notes

  • As a quantity, a score is counted as any other unit: ten score, twelve score, fourteen score, etc. (or tenscore, twelvescore). There is no word for 202; rather, twenty score is used, and twice that forty score.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Terms derived from score (noun)

Translations

Verb

score (third-person singular simple present scores, present participle scoring, simple past and past participle scored)

  1. (transitive) To cut a notch or a groove in a surface.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
      A very neat old woman, still in her good outdoor coat and best beehive hat, was sitting at a polished mahogany table on whose surface there were several scored scratches so deep that a triangular piece of the veneer had come cleanly away, […].
    The baker scored the cake so that the servers would know where to slice it.
  2. (intransitive) To record the tally of points for a game, a match, or an examination.
  3. (ambitransitive) To obtain something desired.
    1. To earn points in a game.
      It is unusual for a team to score a hundred goals in one game.
      Pelé scores again!
      • 2011 September 29, Jon Smith, “Tottenham 3 - 1 Shamrock Rovers”, in BBC Sport‎[3]:
        And White Hart Lane was stunned when Rovers scored just five minutes after the restart in front of their away following.
    2. To achieve academic credit on a test, quiz, homework, assignment, or course.
      • 1996 March 5, Mike Judge, “Substitute”, in Beavis and Butthead, season 6, episode 18, Mr. Van Driessen (actor):
        No, Butthead, that's my point. You didn't score. You got a zero.
      • 2004, Diane McGuinness, Early reading instruction: what science really tells us about how to teach reading:
        At the end of first grade, the children scored 80 percent correct on this test, a value that remained unchanged through third grade.
      • 2018 June 13, Rory Smith, “IQ scores are falling and have been for decades, new study finds”, in CNN‎[4]:
        Intelligence is heritable, and for a long time, researchers assumed that people with high IQ scores would have kids who also scored above average.
    3. (gambling) To win money by gambling.
      • 2005, Shannon Nash, For the Love of Money, page 215:
        […] he scored big by hitting the jack pot at the Bellagio (he won $7,000). The next day, he won $15,000 on the nickel machines at the Palm Casino!
    4. (slang) To acquire or gain.
      I scored some drugs last night.
      Did you score tickets for the concert?
      • 1971, Jagger–Richards, Marianne Faithfull, “Sister Morphine”, in Sticky Fingers, performed by The Rolling Stones:
        What am I doing in this place? / Why does the doctor have no face? / Oh, I can't crawl across the floor / Ah, can't you see, Sister Morphine, I'm trying to score
      • 1975, Andy Mackay, Bryan Ferry, “Love Is the Drug”, performed by Roxy Music:
        I jump up, bubble up, what's in store? / Love is the drug and I need to score
    5. (US, crime, slang, of a police officer) To extract a bribe.
    6. (vulgar, slang) To obtain a sexual favor.
      Chris finally scored with Pat last week.
      • 1982, “Prowlin'”, in Domenic Bugatti, Frank Muskeer, Christopher Cerf (lyrics), Grease 2:
        Gotta find a chick who'll give you more / Well, there's a spot that I've discovered / Where a guy's guaranteed to score
      • 2025 June 23, Caroline Kitchener, “The MTV Reality Star in Trump’s Cabinet Who Wants You to Have More Kids”, in The New York Times‎[5], →ISSN:
        A red-blooded American male who once scored with reality TV stars, he [Sean Duffy] is now a devoted dad with his own chicken coop and beehives, publicly pledging his commitment to his wife and their old Chrysler minivan.
  4. (transitive) To rate; to evaluate the quality of.
    Critics scored the game 92%.
    • 2007, Cross-Cultural Urban Design: Global or Local Practice?, page 197:
      […] this was the case for most students, who scored it highly (medians of 4 with many scores of 5) […]
  5. (transitive, music, film) To provide (a film, etc.) with a musical score.
    • 1974, New York Magazine, volume 7, number 45, page 98:
      Godfather II is nothing like ready. It is not yet scored, and thus not mixed. There remain additional shooting, looping, editing.
    • 2023 August 10, Adrian Horton, “Robbie Robertson, member of the Band, dies at age 80”, in The Guardian, UK:
      Robertson scored several of Scorsese’s films, including Raging Bull, Casino, The Wolf of Wall Street and The Irishman.
  6. (horse racing, ambitransitive) To return (a horse and rider) to the starting-point repeatedly, until a fair start is achieved.
    • 1878, John H. Wallace, Wallace's Monthly, volume 4, page 18:
      […] and the scoring for a start by these "inferior" horses would kill a thoroughbred. As an instance, in the 2:27 race at Cleveland, last summer, twelve horses scored seventeen times before they got a fair start.

Conjugation

Conjugation of score
infinitive (to) score
present tense past tense
1st-person singular score scored
2nd-person singular score, scorest† scored, scoredst†
3rd-person singular scores, scoreth† scored
plural score
subjunctive score scored
imperative score —
participles scoring scored

† Archaic or obsolete.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Descendants

  • →⇒ Irish: scóráil

Translations

Interjection

score

  1. (US, slang) An acknowledgement of success.

See also

References

Anagrams

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from English score.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /skoːrə/, [ˈsɡ̊oːɐ]

Noun

score c (singular definite scoren, plural indefinite scorer)

  1. A score, a number of points earned.

Declension

Declension of score
common
gender 		singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative score scoren scorer
scores 		scorerne
genitive scores scorens scorers
scores' 		scorernes

Verb

score

  1. score a goal/point
  2. land (to acquire; to secure)
  3. (slang) steal
  4. persuade (someone) to have sex with oneself [from 1959]

Conjugation

Conjugation of score
active passive
present scorer scores
past scorede scoredes
infinitive score scores
imperative scor —
participle
present scorende
past scoret
(auxiliary verb have)
gerund —

Derived terms

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English score.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈskoː.rə/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: sco‧re

Noun

score m (plural scores, diminutive scoretje n)

  1. score (number of points earned)

Derived terms

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English score.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /skɔʁ/
  • Audio:(file)

Noun

score m (plural scores)

  1. score (in a sport, game)

Derived terms

Descendants

  • → Romanian: scor n

Further reading

Anagrams

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Inherited from Old English scoru, from Old Norse skor, from Proto-Germanic *skurō.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈskɔːr(ə)/

Noun

score (plural scores)

  1. score

Descendants

References

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

Etymology

Via English score, from Old Norse skor. Related to Old Norse skera (modern Norwegian Bokmål skjære).

Noun

score m (definite singular scoren, indefinite plural scorer, definite plural scorene)

  1. a score

Verb

score (imperative scor, present tense scorer, passive scores, simple past and past participle scora or scoret, present participle scorende)

  1. to score (earn points in a game)

Derived terms

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from English score. Doublet of skòr.

Noun

score m (definite singular scoren, indefinite plural scorar, definite plural scorane)

  1. a score

Verb

score (present tense scorar, past tense scora, past participle scora, passive infinitive scorast, present participle scorande, imperative score/scor)

  1. to score (earn points in a game)

References

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English score.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /esˈkoɾ/ [esˈkoɾ]
  • Rhymes: -oɾ

Noun

score m (plural scores)

  1. (sports) score

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Yola

Etymology

From Middle English score, from Old English scoru.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /skɔːr/

Noun

score

  1. score
    • 1867, “THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 1, page 94:
      An aar was a hundereth lauckeen vowre score.
      And there was a hundred, lacking four score;
    • 1867, “THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 2, page 94:
      Aar was Parick o Dearmoth, an dhen score besidh,
      There was Patrick o Deormod, and ten score beside,
    • 1867, “DR. RUSSELL ON THE INHABITANTS AND DIALECT OF THE BARONY OF FORTH”, in APPENDIX, page 130:
      Th'ar was a hunnert, lackin a score,
      [There was a hundred, lacking a score,]

References

  • Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 94
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