You might think of football when you hear the word scrimmage, because the ball is placed on the "line of scrimmage" at the start of a play. A scrimmage is also a practice between two squads. You can also use scrimmage as a verb for other types of practicing. A basketball player might scrimmage by shooting one hundred free throws, for example. Originally, scrimmage was a variation on the word skirmish, and meant "a confused struggle between players."