Safety
A term whose meaning differs by sport: a two-point score in gridiron football, and a defensive shot in cue sports.
Definition
In American and Canadian gridiron football, a safety is a score worth two points, awarded to the defending team when the ball-carrier is tackled, goes out of bounds, or commits certain fouls in their own end zone; the conceding team must then also kick the ball back to the opponents. "Safety" additionally names a defensive back position in gridiron, so context matters.
In cue sports such as snooker, billiards and pool, a "safety" or safety shot is a deliberately defensive stroke played to leave the opponent without an easy scoring opportunity, rather than an attempt to pot a ball or add points. The two uses are unrelated, so the meaning depends entirely on the sport being discussed.
Scope: Meaning differs entirely between gridiron football (a score) and cue sports (a defensive shot).
Meaning by sport
This term is used differently across sports:
- American football
- A two-point score for the defence when the offence is downed or fouls in its own end zone; also the name of a defensive back position.
- snooker
- A defensive shot played to leave the opponent no easy pot or score, not an attempt to add points.
- pool
- A deliberate defensive shot aimed at limiting the opponent's next scoring chance.
Where you’ll hear “safety”
Sports that use this term:
How it connects
The meaning-bearing relationships that place Safety in the wider knowledge graph — each one with the reason it exists.
Commonly confused with
Close enough to be mixed up — the distinction is worth knowing.
Explore across the knowledge base
Follow the threads that connect Safety to the rest of SocialSportHub.
Positions
- Shooting guardThe shooting guard is a perimeter player whose main role is to score, especially from mid-range and beyond the three-point line.
- Point guardThe point guard is basketball’s primary ball-handler and playmaker, running the offence and setting up teammates to score.
- Centre-backA centre-back is a central defender in football whose main job is to stop opposing attackers and clear the ball from dangerous areas.
Tactics
- Point constructionHow tennis points are built rather than won — the neutral, attacking and defensive positions, what each one permits, and why most errors come from playing the wrong shot for the position.
- Serve +1 and return +1The two-shot patterns that decide short points — how a serve's direction determines where the reply comes from, and how a returner uses the same idea against the server.
- Offside trapA defensive football tactic where the back line steps up together to leave an attacker offside.
Scoring systems
- Basketball scoringBasketball is scored by shooting the ball through the hoop, with baskets worth one, two or three points depending on where the shot is taken.
- Football (soccer) scoringFootball is scored by goals, with each goal worth one point and the team scoring the most goals winning the match.
- Table tennis scoringTable tennis is scored on every rally to 11 points per game, won by two clear points, over a best-of odd number of games.
- Tennis scoringTennis is scored in points, games and sets, using the distinctive 15–30–40 point sequence and a win-by-two margin at every level.
- Table tennis scoring and service orderHow games and matches are won — 11 points with a two-point margin, service changing every two points, and the expedite system that stops a game lasting forever.
Disciplines
- Sparring (Kyorugi)Kyorugi is taekwondo's competitive sparring discipline, where two athletes score points by landing controlled kicks and punches on legal target areas within timed rounds.
- RecurveRecurve archery uses a bow whose limb tips curve away from the archer, shot with a sight and finger release; it is the discipline contested at the Olympic Games.
Player roles
- FinisherA finisher is the attacking outlet in a team sport whose main job is converting chances into points — the striker, goal shooter or go-to scorer.
- Last line of defenceThe final barrier between an attack and a score — the goalkeeper, sweeper or last-ditch defender whose job is to stop what the rest of the team has let through.
Go deeper with Safety
Everywhere else on the platform that covers Safety — assembled from what actually references it, so nothing here is a dead end.
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How this page is maintained
- Content type
- Term
- Provenance
- Tier A — evergreen educational
- Verified external sources
- 0
- Content updated
- 2026-09-01
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