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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.

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

Even without their star tailback, the Bulldogs scored six touchdowns — all on the ground — to defeat host Palisades 42-21 in a City Section Open Division quarterfinal playoff game.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 15, 2025

Kimani Vidal waited in the shadows of a tailback logjam.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 19, 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

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.