Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🏈 American football player ⚽ Soccer defender ⚽ To defend
fullback

fullback

21 3.2
A player who lines up behind the quarterback and mainly blocks, sometimes runs or catches the ball
  • noun
  • /ˈfʊlˌbæk/
  • US
translation icon : fullback (fútbol americano)
  • The coach praised the fullback for his excellent blocking during the game.
  • center fullback

And I believe he was Hedgecock at fullback and Jacobs was the tailback.

Examples

  • Senior Greg Schuster starts at fullback for this versatile and experienced group.

    Blog text (24)

  • "We aren't nearly as good as we can be," senior fullback Ryan Hewitt said.

    Blog text (16)

  • It's Jones, fullback, off the right side.

    Two for the Money (2005)

  • The junior fullback, Max James!

    Straw Dogs (2011)

  • Our last year of high school, I was made fullback of the football team.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • The number one receiver, the number one tight end, and the starting fullback were all out.

    Blog text (17)

  • Getting there and playing early because I'll be the only fullback on campus.

    Blog text (14)

  • I honestly think that the fullback position will be where the loss is felt most heavily on offense.

    Blog text (26)

  • "First and foremost, it's the guy carrying the ball," fullback Michael Robinson said.

    Blog text (4)

  • The perfectly weighted pass you see above hit fullback Sean Franklin, who had just pushed up past midfield.

    Blog text (14)

Synonyms

running back
vsfullback
  • Jargon
60 2.8

A player in American football who runs with the ball to gain yards for the team

is mainly responsible for blocking and sometimes runs or catches the ball

How Fast

scatback
  • Jargon
1 8.8
running back
  • Jargon
60 2.8
fullback
  • US
21 3.2

Surface Forms

fullback singular
fullbacks plural

Morphology

fullback = full + back (semi-transparent) = full + back

The components 'full' + 'back' clearly show a 'back' position, but the precise role (offensive blocker in American football) is conventionalized and not fully predictable from the parts.

Etymology

The word fullback comes from full ('all the way') and back ('at the rear'), meaning a player who stands 'all the way back' on the field. So in American football a fullback is the strong back who lines up behind the quarterback and mainly blocks or makes short runs.