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touchback

touchback

2 7.9
A kickoff into the other team's end zone that is not returned, so the team starts at the 25-yard line
  • noun
  • /ˈtʌtʃˌbæk/
  • Jargon
: touchback
  • The player kicked the ball into the end zone, resulting in a touchback and starting the next play from the 25-yard line.
  • touchback kickoffs
  • zone for a touchback
  • end zone for touchbacks

Oh, and then just face down on the turf for like a touchback.

Examples

  • ... Hauschka's kick soars into the end zone and it's a touchback.

    Blog text (28)
  • Fields gets it up for a high punt that lands 57 yards away in the end zone for a touchback.

    Blog text (28)
  • The play resulted in a touchback and a huge break for the Pokes.

    Blog text (12)
  • Now Hauschka kicks it off, and the ball flies through the end zone for a touchback.

    Blog text (28)
  • The Redskins started this drive on the 20 after a touchback, meaning the first-down marker was exactly at the 30.

    Blog text (7)
  • After the touchback, the defense stuffed a slipping Doug Martin run.

    Blog text (34)
  • His kickoffs routinely land in or out of the end zone for touchbacks.

    Blog text (32)
  • Carpenter kicks it off, and Washington grabs it in the back of the end zone, stepping backward for the touchback.

    Blog text (28)
  • While he's been doing all that, he's ninth in touchbacks with 29 after his career best had been nine.

    Blog text (19)
  • But Andre Williams fumbled the ball into the end zone, where it was recovered by Darius Kilgo for a touchback.

    Blog text (17)

Antonyms

43 3.1

An action of hitting or running the ball back in sport

Surface Forms

touchback singular
touchbacks plural

Morphology

touchback = touch + back (semi-transparent) = touch + back

The components 'touch' and 'back' are clear, but the specific technical meaning is a specialized American football term not directly inferable by all learners.

Etymology

Touchback is a simple combination of touch ('to make contact') and back ('to move something to an earlier place'). In American football it means the ball 'touches' the end zone and is then brought 'back' to a set spot, so the team starts its play there.