tailback

noun

ˈtāl-ˌbak How to pronounce tailback (audio)
Definition of tailbacknext
British
as in jam
a crowded mass (as of cars) that impedes or blocks movement stuck in a five-mile tailback on the southbound carriageway

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tailback His competition for backup tailback, Jordan James, didn’t take part in the last third of practice. — Matt Barrows, New York Times, 28 July 2026 That should allow star running back De’Von Achane to find space to scoot around the edge, or for rotational tailbacks Jaylen Wright and Ollie Gordon II to pound it along the left side. — David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 17 July 2026 The 27-year-old tailback was the Broncos’ offensive MVP over the first 10 weeks of a wild, wacky 2025. — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 9 June 2026 The Pro Bowl tailback faces five charges, including a felony count of strangulation and suffocation, along with misdemeanor counts of battery, criminal damage to property, disorderly conduct and intimidation of a victim. — Alejandro Avila, FOXNews.com, 2 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for tailback
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tailback
  1. jam
  2. congestion
  3. bottleneck
  4. snarl
Noun
  • Feta and goat cheese make fine substitutions if blue cheese isn’t your jam.
    — Emily Paster, Midwest Living, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Jeff Hoffman allowed two runners in the eighth but escaped the jam, in part, due to Clemens making a diving stop on a hard grounder by Harris.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of jam
Noun
  • When speaking to Georgetown’s appeal as a retirement destination, Whitlock also notes its relative affordability (and lack of congestion).
    — Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Despite ongoing hurdles around interconnection queues and grid congestion, the scale of deployment shows developers are overcoming technical and regulatory barriers to support rising electricity demand from data centers and electrification.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of congestion
Noun
  • So the gangs pivoted to theft, focused on the rail hubs located in urban bottlenecks including Chicago, Los Angeles and Memphis, according to Bloomberg.
    — Jim Edwards, Fortune, 20 Aug. 2026
  • To solve this manufacturing bottleneck, Thea Energy—a spinout from Princeton University—has redesigned the stellarator using flat, high-temperature superconducting magnets.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of bottleneck
Noun
  • Arguably the standout set of the entire festival, her set was grimy and dark, featuring songs off her new album, Music, Fashion, Film, for the first time with a permanent snarl.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 3 Aug. 2026
  • The wildly popular Instagram page was offline for a hot minute, leaving the general pop pining for videos on the myriad zany happenings in our city, from traffic snarls and celebrity shenanigans to animal encounters and fights outside the club.
    — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 30 July 2026
Definition of snarl

Browse Nearby Words

tail
tailback
tailbacks
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Cite this Entry

“Tailback.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tailback. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

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