tailback

noun

tail·​back ˈtāl-ˌbak 

1

: the offensive football back farthest from the line of scrimmage

2

British : a line of vehicles caused by a traffic slowdown or stoppage

Synonyms

• jam
• congestion
• bottleneck
• snarl

Examples of tailback in a Sentence

stuck in a five-mile tailback on the southbound carriageway

Recent Examples on the Web

Losing the 23-year-old tailback, rushed for 1,122 yards and eight touchdowns last year as a rookie, is a gut-punch to the Buccaneers offense — Irving leads the team in carries (71) and rushing yards (237). —Michael Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025

Ott ranks fourth in attempts among tailbacks, behind Tory Blaylock (42), Jovantae Barnes (19) and Xavier Robinson (13). —Antonio Morales, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025

Notre Dame needed just two plays from there, with second-string tailback Jadarian Price taking a swing pass in the right flats through the middle of Arkansas’ defense for a 35-yard touchdown with nine seconds remaining before intermission. —Tom Murphy, Arkansas Online, 27 Sep. 2025

The former Seattle Seahawks tailback married his wife, Valerie, in 2002. —Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1930, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for tailback

• aback
• anzac
• attack
• backpack
• backtrack
• bareback
• blackjack
• brownback
• buyback
• callback
• cognac
• comeback