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

Davis was just 4 for 11 on field goals at FAU but made two 50-plus yard field goals, was perfect on extra points (23 for 23) and has a high touchback rate on kickoffs; 46 of his 61 kickoffs weren’t returned last season. —Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 21 Apr. 2025

The committee also ruled that teams will now get the ball at the 35-yard line on a touchback. —Ben Morse and Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 1 Apr. 2025

Corral finished fourth in net punting in 1981, somehow recording only three touchbacks on 86 attempts. —Tim Graham, New York Times, 2 May 2025

This upcoming season, teams will be further incentivized to avoid touchbacks. —Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 1 Apr. 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