back line

British

noun

(in some team sports) the defensive players considered as a unit

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

City's makeshift back line struggled to keep United at bay all afternoon and would have been embarrassed but for the brilliance of Donnarumma in goal.

From Barron's

“Shutouts are up there but as long as we win, I’m happy. Our defense is awesome — LT, Nathan Dorfman, Aiden Cruz and Dayton Chontos — our whole back line.”

From Los Angeles Times

This opened up space in front of the back line for Nicolo Savona to arrive in and score.

From BBC

Vanney also wants to add depth on the back line and in the midfield.

From Los Angeles Times

Tuchel has stressed the need for off-the-ball running in behind defences to stretch the back line, open up spaces for team-mates and to receive the ball over the top in goal scoring situations.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023