the crease

noun

: an area around or in front of a goal in some games (such as hockey)
Players from the opposing team may not enter the crease.

Examples of the crease in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Some units also show lines of dead pixels following the crease from the top to the area where the bright lines begin. — Ryan Whitwam, ArsTechnica, 27 Oct. 2026 Ryan Greene tracked a puck that bounced at the top of the crease and into the air and batted it past Schmid and into the net. — Miami Herald, 26 Oct. 2026 What unfolded instead was a traffic jam on the right side before Walker cut back left, Mahomes nudged a linebacker off his course and Walker hit the crease and dived into the end zone. — Sam McDowell 20, Kansas City Star, 20 Oct. 2026 With the game tied at 3, Ostlund scored by tapping in Zach Benson's pass through the crease. — CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for the crease

Rhymes for the crease

See All Rhymes for the crease

Browse Nearby Words

the cream
the crease
the creeps
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“The crease.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20crease. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of shindig

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 Scrabble Dictionary

The Words of the Week - Oct. 30

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All