: a run made in football after catching an opponent's kick or intercepting a pass
Examples of runback in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
With Ritt’s runback with 1:03 left in the fourth quarter, coach Chuck Kyle called for a 2-point conversion.
—
Matt Goul, cleveland, 5 Nov. 2022
Two epic plays: James Harrison’s 100-yard interception runback for a touchdown as the clock ran out in the first half and Santonio Holmes’ unbelievable catch of a Ben Roethlisberger pass to win the game in the waning seconds.
—Al Michaels, Los Angeles Times, 2 Feb. 2022
Auburn hasn’t allowed many big returns on either kickoffs or punts and doesn’t return punts particularly well, but kickoff return man Nehemiah Pritchett saved the Tigers with a 72-yard runback vs. Georgia State.
—Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, 24 Nov. 2021
Fleurima, a senior, scored his first career return touchdown with a 32-yard runback in the first quarter.
—Patrick Z. McGavin, chicagotribune.com, 16 Oct. 2021
The fourth-round draft pick out of Iowa State scored on a 99-yard runback last week at San Francisco to become the first NFL player with multiple kickoff return touchdowns in a season since Cordarrelle Patterson had two for the Vikings in 2016.
—Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 5 Dec. 2021
Thorne threw an interception on an end-of-half Hail Mary attempt that nearly turned into a big play for the Terps until his tackle on the runback.
—Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press, 13 Nov. 2021
The speedster had a 2-yard punt return and a 22-yard runback on a kickoff.
—Eric Branch, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 Nov. 2021
Cannon had a 29-yard runback on his lone return Sunday and, on kickoff coverage, upended Jakeem Grant for his fifth solo special-teams tackle, the most on the team.
—Eric Branch, San Francisco Chronicle, 2 Nov. 2021
See More
Matt Goul, cleveland, 5 Nov. 2022
Two epic plays: James Harrison’s 100-yard interception runback for a touchdown as the clock ran out in the first half and Santonio Holmes’ unbelievable catch of a Ben Roethlisberger pass to win the game in the waning seconds.
—Al Michaels, Los Angeles Times, 2 Feb. 2022
Auburn hasn’t allowed many big returns on either kickoffs or punts and doesn’t return punts particularly well, but kickoff return man Nehemiah Pritchett saved the Tigers with a 72-yard runback vs. Georgia State.
—Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, 24 Nov. 2021
Fleurima, a senior, scored his first career return touchdown with a 32-yard runback in the first quarter.
—Patrick Z. McGavin, chicagotribune.com, 16 Oct. 2021
The fourth-round draft pick out of Iowa State scored on a 99-yard runback last week at San Francisco to become the first NFL player with multiple kickoff return touchdowns in a season since Cordarrelle Patterson had two for the Vikings in 2016.
—Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 5 Dec. 2021
Thorne threw an interception on an end-of-half Hail Mary attempt that nearly turned into a big play for the Terps until his tackle on the runback.
—Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press, 13 Nov. 2021
The speedster had a 2-yard punt return and a 22-yard runback on a kickoff.
—Eric Branch, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 Nov. 2021
Cannon had a 29-yard runback on his lone return Sunday and, on kickoff coverage, upended Jakeem Grant for his fifth solo special-teams tackle, the most on the team.
—Eric Branch, San Francisco Chronicle, 2 Nov. 2021
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'runback.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1905, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near runback
Cite this Entry
“Runback.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/runback. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
runback
noun
run·back
ˈrən-ˌbak 
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share