touchdown

1 of 2

noun

touch·​down ˈtəch-ˌdau̇n 

1

: the act of touching a football to the ground behind an opponent's goal

specifically : the act of scoring six points in American football by being lawfully in possession of the ball on, above, or behind an opponent's goal line when the ball is declared dead

2

: the act or moment of touching down (as with an airplane or spacecraft)

touch down

2 of 2

verb

touched down; touching down; touches down

intransitive verb

: to reach the ground : land

transitive verb

: to place (the ball in rugby) by hand on the ground on or over an opponent's goal line in scoring a try or behind one's own goal line as a defensive measure

Synonyms of touchdown

Verb

• perch
• land
• light

Examples of touchdown in a Sentence

Noun

What was the plane's speed at touchdown?

Verb

the plane will touch down in about 30 minutes

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

What’s more, Pierce totaled 1,003 yards and six touchdowns on just 47 catches last year. — James Boyd, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2026

Purdy is dialed in One of Purdy’s first throws of 11-on-11 drills on Thursday was a deep touchdown to reserve receiver Malik Turner down the left sideline hitting him in stride beyond the chasing defensive back. — Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 10 Aug. 2026

Verb

This week, PCMag's security team touched down in the sweltering heat of Las Vegas to join thousands of hackers, researchers, and enterprise defenders at Black Hat. — Kim Key, PC Magazine, 8 Aug. 2026

Fortunately, the plane touched down without further incident. — David Hookstead Outkick, FOXNews.com, 7 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1856, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1859, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for touchdown

• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown
• hometown

Kids Definition

touchdown

1 of 2 noun

touch·​down ˈtəch-ˌdau̇n 

1

: the act of touching a football to the ground behind an opponent's goal

2

: the act of scoring six points in American football by carrying the ball over the opponent's goal line

3

: the act or moment of touching down (as with an airplane or spacecraft)

touch down

2 of 2 verb

(ˈ)təch-ˈdau̇n

: to reach the ground : land