goalposts
noun/ɡoʊlpoʊsts/
Frequency rank: #18,827 most common English word
Meaning
the pair of upright posts with a crossbar, used in sports such as football to mark where a ball must enter to score a goal; also used figuratively to mean the rules or targets of a situation

Example sentence
The referee asked the players to wait while workers moved the goalposts to the other end of the field.
Synonyms & related words
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