checkdown

noun

check·down | \ ˈchek-ˌdau̇n

How to pronounce checkdown (audio)

\

plural checkdowns

Definition of checkdown

American football

: a short pass play to a running back or tight end that the quarterback chooses after reading the defensive coverage and seeing no play downfield I just took what the defense gave me, hit my checkdowns, hit short stuff.— Eli Manning, quoted in Sporting News, 22 Dec. 2008 Running back Warrick Dunn might be the most underrated back in the league. Dunn … is a serious threat as a receiver. He's a dangerous checkdown target …— Brad Biggs, Chicago Sun-Times, 18 Dec. 2005

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about checkdown

Dictionary Entries near checkdown

Statistics for checkdown

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for checkdown

The first known use of checkdown was in 1981

See more words from the same year

Comments on checkdown

What made you want to look up checkdown? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

WORD OF THE DAY

fiduciary

involving a confidence or trust

Test Your Vocabulary

Word Puzzles

Which answer pairs best with each of the following words? living, estate, club, music, road, mile

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ