move the goal posts
move the goal posts is the alternative form of move the goalposts.
Meaning of move the goalposts
Verb
move the goalposts (third-person singular simple present moves the goalposts, present participle moving the goalposts, simple past and past participle moved the goalposts)
- To alter the terms of an agreement or an agreed target, or the rules of a negotiation while it is ongoing, especially in an unfair way.
- This is a Government that meets its economic targets and does not move the goalposts.
- Synonyms:
- change the goal posts, shift the goalposts
Forms of move the goal posts
| third-person singular present | moves the goal posts |
|---|---|
| present participle | moving the goal posts |
| past participle | moved the goal posts |
| past | moved the goal posts |
Questions about move the goal posts
- What is move the goal posts the alternative form of?
- Move the goal posts is the alternative form of move the goalposts.
Words near move the goal posts in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: move the goal posts (page history and authors); move the goalposts (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “move the goal posts.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/move_the_goal_posts. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.