touchback

noun

touch·​back ˈtəch-ˌbak 

plural touchbacks

: a situation in football that typically occurs when the ball is downed (see down entry 3 sense 2) behind the goal line (as after a kickoff or punt) and that results in the team that is defending the goal putting the ball back in play on its own 20- or 25-yard line

Touchbacks on kickoffs will be moved to the 25-yard line, from the 20, to give teams an incentive not to run the ball out of the end zone, one of the most dangerous plays in the game.

—Ken Belson

The punter landed 27% of his kicks inside the 20-yard line while only four ended up in the endzone for a touchback.

—Branson Nash

compare safety sense 3a(1)

Examples of touchback in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

One of Weston’s punts was a touchback, and one of the two kicked out of bounds was shanked for a net of 13 yards. —Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 27 Oct. 2025

Caleb Sylvia kicked field goals of 47 and 25 yards and sent all seven of his kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks. —Steve Fryer, Oc Register, 18 Oct. 2025

Gillan took over the kickoffs after Jude McAtamney booted two touchbacks in Week 4. —Dan Duggan, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025

The score would have given Arizona a 21-point lead late in the game, but instead the ball bounced out of the back of the end zone, resulting in a touchback and a turnover. —Paulina Dedaj, FOXNews.com, 7 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1884, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for touchback

• aback
• anzac
• attack
• backpack
• backtrack
• bareback
• blackjack
• brownback
• buyback
• callback
• cognac
• comeback

Kids Definition

touchback

noun

touch·​back ˈtəch-ˌbak 

: the act of downing a football behind the goal line after receiving a kick or intercepting a pass