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Glite Dictionary
flanker back

flanker back

1 7.7
An American football player who stands near the sideline to catch passes
  • noun
  • /ˈflæŋkər bæk/
  • Jargon
: 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
pass receiver
vsflanker back
  • Jargon
4 3.9

A football player who catches passes from the quarterback

is placed wide and used mainly to catch forward 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
flanker
vsflanker back
  • Jargon
1 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

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'.