touch football

noun

: football played informally and chiefly characterized by the substitution of touching for tackling

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Patrick Mahomes entered the N.F.L. with all the gravitas of a fifth grader playing touch football at recess. Joe Drape, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2023 Teenagers and young adults played touch football. Ricardo Torres, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 6 Sep. 2020 The rock star wanted to play some touch football, so Kinzbach put together a team that the elder Hoyer played on. Mike Rose, cleveland, 26 Sep. 2022 Many of us do that by watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade or tossing around the pigskin in a friendly game of touch football. Lizz Schumer, Good Housekeeping, 10 Aug. 2022 Football’s Pro Bowl has become touch football played in pads, as the players who agree to show up try to avoid injury. William Power, WSJ, 15 May 2022 We are treated to a shirtless game of touch football on the beach, which doesn’t quite match the original volleyball game for sweaty camp subtext. New York Times, 26 May 2022 The unfurling snap of a boat sail; the gleaming Formica in a desert rest-stop diner; golden bodies playing touch football in the California surf while a magic-hour sun goes down. Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 12 May 2022 The alternative touch football game similar to ultimate frisbee was created at Davidson in 1951. Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY, 16 Mar. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'touch football.' 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

1913, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of touch football was in 1913

Dictionary Entries Near touch football

Cite this Entry

“Touch football.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/touch%20football. Accessed 30 May. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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