quar·ter·back
ˈkwȯ(r)-tər-ˌbak 
1
: an offensive back in football who usually lines up behind the center, calls the signals, and directs the offensive play of the team
2
: one who directs and leads
quarterbacked; quarterbacking; quarterbacks
1
: to direct the offensive play of
quarterback a football team
2
: to give executive direction to : boss
quarterbacked the original buying syndicate—
Time
Time
: to play quarterback
Examples of quarterback in a Sentence
Verb
He quarterbacked his high school team.
She quarterbacked the company's latest ad campaign.
Recent Examples on the Web
Oliver Thomas, Forbes.com, 3 Apr. 2025
The Steelers mainly struggled on offense last season with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields at quarterback, so the team could use a youth and talent injection into the unit.
—Jason D. Greenblatt, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Apr. 2025
Arpon Basu, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2025
Toney’s quarterback at American Heritage, Dia Bell, suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the playoffs, so Toney moved to quarterback and led the Patriots to a championship.
—Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 13 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quarterback
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Noun
Milton, 25, worked the scout team and dressed as the emergency third quarterback during the majority of his rookie campaign in Foxborough.
—Oliver Thomas, Forbes.com, 3 Apr. 2025
The Steelers mainly struggled on offense last season with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields at quarterback, so the team could use a youth and talent injection into the unit.
—Jason D. Greenblatt, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Apr. 2025
Verb
Last season, Matheson was quarterbacking the No. 1 power-play unit, had by far the most offensive zone starts among Canadiens defencemen and was playing most often behind the top line of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovský.
—Arpon Basu, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2025
Toney’s quarterback at American Heritage, Dia Bell, suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the playoffs, so Toney moved to quarterback and led the Patriots to a championship.
—Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 13 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quarterback
Cite this Entry
“Quarterback.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quarterback. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.
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