score
part of speech
noun, verb (score, scores, scored, scoring)
meaning for a pupil
1) A score is the number of points someone gets in a game, a match or a test. tree →
2) To score is to get a point or a goal in a game, or to get a mark in a test. tree →
3) A score is also the written music for a band or orchestra, or the music of a film. tree →
4) An old meaning: a score is 20 things, so «four score» is 80. tree →
5) To score a line is to scratch or cut it into a surface. tree →
6) A score can also be a debt or a grudge that you need to settle. tree →
sense in the lessons
In school a score is a test mark (a score of 85 out of 100) or points in a game; scores are added, compared or averaged. In sport: score a goal, score a try, the final score, keep score. In stories: «What's the score?» asks how the game stands; «to settle a score» means to get back at someone. In old texts and the Bible «threescore years and ten» is 70 years.
examples
- Her score was 85 on the test. tree →
- The team scored 3 goals in the second half. tree →
- What is his average score? tree →
- Ann scored 12 more points than Ben. tree →
- The final score was 2–1 to our school. tree →
- Dad kept score while we played cards. tree →
- The film's score was played by a big orchestra. tree →
- «Four score and seven years ago» means 87 years ago. tree →
- She scored the cardboard with scissors so it would fold neatly. tree →
- What I have done was in payment of an old score. tree →
note
Countable noun: a score, scores. Past: scored. «Score» (verb) takes the points: score 3 goals, score 90 on a test. «Scores of» means many (scores of people). Points to add, compare or average. Trap: «four score» in old texts means 4 × 20 = 80. Trap: a higher score is usually better, but in golf the lowest score wins. «Out of» gives the whole: 18 out of 20.
In the corpora
- A credit score is a rating of how reliably someone pays; missing payments lowers it and makes borrowing harder and dearer.
- Critics and review sites give scores, but those are opinions, and your own taste may differ.
- A cheat code in a game only you play harms nobody, but showing off those scores as real would be a lie.
- Being trusted with the money or the score in a game is a test of honesty.
- Cheat codes in a game only you play harm nobody, but claiming those scores as real is lying.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «score» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.