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Synonyms

tailback

American  
[teyl-bak] / ˈteɪlˌbæk /

noun

Football.
  1. the offensive back who lines up farthest behind the line of scrimmage, as in a single wingback or double wingback formation.

  2. the position played by this back.


tailback British  
/ ˈteɪlˌbæk /

noun

  1. a queue of traffic stretching back from an obstruction

"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

Etymology

Origin of tailback

First recorded in 1935–40; tail 1 + back 1

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.

See Examples For:

And before Thursday, their only previous trip to the Rose Bowl had come in 1967 when they were run over by a USC tailback named O.J.

From The Wall Street Journal Jan. 2, 2026

Los Alamitos avoided a second-half goose egg thanks to a 45-yard touchdown run from the 5-foot-11 tailback.

From Los Angeles Times Dec. 6, 2025

Interim coach Terrence Whitehead, a former City player of the year for Crenshaw in 2001 and former Oregon Ducks tailback, took the reins of the offense and day-to-day operations of the program.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 6, 2025

Our view of the Bears’ situation does not require much context or many sentences: Simply put, they managed to retain the one player they could not lose: tailback Jaydn Ott.

From Seattle Times May 7, 2024

Like his father, Don was also the starting tailback for Permian.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger

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