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Glite Dictionary
flanker back

flanker back

7.7
An American football player who stands near the sideline to catch passes
  • noun
  • /ˈflæŋkər bæk/
  • Jargon
translation icon : flanker back
  • Our team's flanker back caught two touchdown passes last night.

Examples

  • She studied the role of the flanker back for her sports journalism class.

  • The flanker back caught the ball in the end zone.

  • The coach decided to use a flanker back to stretch the defense.

  • He plays as a flanker back for the Eagles.

  • The quarterback threw a precise pass to the flanker back, who sprinted down the sideline for a touchdown.

  • As a flanker back, he was responsible for catching passes and creating mismatches against defenders.

  • In the game, the coach instructed the flanker back to run a corner route to test the defense's coverage.

Synonyms

wideout
vsflanker back
  • Jargon
8 6.5

A player near the side of the field who catches passes in American football

is positioned wide of the line but stresses primary role catching passes
flanker
vsflanker back
  • Jargon
2 6.6

A player on the side of the team who helps attack or defend

is specific to American football wide positioning and mainly catches passes
pass catcher
vsflanker back
  • Jargon
1 5.4

A player who receives forward passes, like a wide receiver or tight end

is specifically the wide-position player chiefly used to catch passes
pass receiver
vsflanker back
  • Jargon
3.9

A football player who catches passes from the quarterback

is placed wide and used mainly to catch forward passes

Surface Forms

flanker back singular
flanker backs plural

Morphology

flanker + back

The compound is compositionally built from two role nouns — a ‘flanker’ (player on the flank) and a ‘back’ (a backfield player) — so a learner can infer it denotes a back who plays wide. However, the precise technical details (positioning wide of the line of scrimmage and chiefly serving as a pass receiver) are specialized sports jargon and not fully predictable from the constituents alone, so prior exposure helps.

Etymology

Flanker back comes from two simple football ideas: a flanker plays on the 'flank', the side of the play, and a back stands a little 'back' from the line so they can catch passes, so the name describes a wide player mainly used as a 'pass receiver'.