touchback

[ tuhch-bak ]

/ ˈtʌtʃˌbæk /

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noun Football.

a play in which the ball is downed after having been kicked into the end zone by the opposing team or having been recovered or intercepted there, or in which it has been kicked beyond the end zone.Compare safety (def. 6a).

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Origin of touchback

First recorded in 1885–90; touch + back²

Words nearby touchback

totty, toucan, toucanet, touch, touch and go, touchback, touch base, touch base with, touch bottom, touchdown, touché

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use touchback in a sentence

The same group never wants the ball to reach the end zone for a touchback.
The Nation’s Best Punter Is Changing The Game|Alex Kirshner|December 2, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
Araiza had a 59-yard net on a 79-yard touchback against Hawaii, and five of his 14 touchbacks have exceeded the 40-yard net SDSU cares so much about.
The Nation’s Best Punter Is Changing The Game|Alex Kirshner|December 2, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
The 49ers muffed a punt, with returner Brandon Aiyuk kicking the ball backward into his own end zone for what became a touchback, fortunately for him.
Season is unraveling for Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers, who lose a slop-fest to the Colts|Mark Maske|October 25, 2021|Washington Post
There was a 79-yard punt by the Colts when 49ers returner Brandon Aiyuk muffed the rain-soaked football, then kicked it inadvertently backward into his own end zone for a fortuitous touchback.
Season is unraveling for Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers, who lose a slop-fest to the Colts|Mark Maske|October 25, 2021|Washington Post

In 2012, college football moved the kickoff line forward from the 30-yard line to the 35 and the touchback line from the 20-yard line to the 25, encouraging teams to take touchbacks and avoid some of those collisions.
Why Are We Still Returning Kicks In College Football?|Jake Lourim|December 11, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
The other, to his immediate left, is calling for a touchback, the result of an interception.
The NFL Replacement Referees’ 6 Worst Blown Calls (VIDEO)|Jake Heller|September 26, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Carmine finally fell on the ball for a touchback and the excitement in the stands subsided.
Left Guard Gilbert|Ralph Henry Barbour
But the Boxford boy was on the ball and had scored a touchback!
Deering of Deal|Latta Griswold
She punted on the next down and Stone misjudged the ball and followed it across the line for a touchback.
Quarter-Back Bates|Ralph Henry Barbour
He might have played it safe by taking it over the line for a touchback, but the idea didnt occur to him.
Center Rush Rowland|Ralph Henry Barbour

British Dictionary definitions for touchback

touchback

/ (ˈtʌtʃˌbæk) /

noun

American football a play in which the ball is put down by a player behind his own goal line when the ball has been put across the goal line by an opponentCompare safety (def. 4b)

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