: a run made in football after catching an opponent's kick or intercepting a pass
Examples of runback in a Sentence
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With Ritt’s runback with 1:03 left in the fourth quarter, coach Chuck Kyle called for a 2-point conversion.
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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
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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
See All Example Sentences for runback
Cite this Entry
“Runback.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/runback. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
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runback
noun
run·back
ˈrən-ˌbak 
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