fullback

[foo l-bak]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fullback ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Football.

a running back who lines up behind the quarterback and is farthest from the line of scrimmage.

the position played by this back.

(in soccer, Rugby, field hockey) a player stationed near the defended goal to carry out chiefly defensive duties.

RELATED WORDS

halfback, tailback, slotback, wingback

Origin of fullback

First recorded in 1885–90; full¹ + back¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for fullback

How many times we had seen that fullback miss that block on that end I do not know.
The Night Vince Lombardi Lay Awake Brooding Over a 49-0 Win|W.C. Heinz|January 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For an instant they felt an immense relief, as they crowded around Wilson, the fullback, and clapped him on the shoulder.
Bert Wilson on the Gridiron|J. W. Duffield
"Fullback's the big problem," said Tompkins, as they started across the field.
Stover at Yale|Owen Johnson
The mainmast was consecrated to the left half, and the mizzen to the fullback.
Football Days|William H. Edwards

I'm hot on the trail of a fullback that will make Ted Coy at his coyest look like the paralyzed inmate of an old man's home.
T. Haviland Hicks Senior|J. Raymond Elderdice
Walbridge and Barclay were a great team in themselves, backed up by Bray at fullback.
Football Days|William H. Edwards

British Dictionary definitions for fullback

fullback

noun

soccer hockey one of two defensive players positioned in front of the goalkeeper

rugby a defensive player positioned close to his own line

the position held by any of these players

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