touchback

noun

touch·​back ˈtəch-ˌbak 

plural touchbacks

: a situation in football that typically occurs when the ball is downed (see down entry 3 sense 2) behind the goal line (as after a kickoff or punt) and that results in the team that is defending the goal putting the ball back in play on its own 20- or 25-yard line

Touchbacks on kickoffs will be moved to the 25-yard line, from the 20, to give teams an incentive not to run the ball out of the end zone, one of the most dangerous plays in the game.

—Ken Belson

The punter landed 27% of his kicks inside the 20-yard line while only four ended up in the endzone for a touchback.

—Branson Nash

compare safety sense 3a(1)

Examples of touchback in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Duke commit, placekicker Gavin Strange nailed all seven of his PAT attempts, and all eight of his kickoffs were touchbacks, with all but one through the end zone. —Mike Waters, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Aug. 2025

The Oviedo defense forced Lake Mary running back O’Shea Faison to fumble two of his three times just before crossing the goal line for touchbacks. —Buddy Collings, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 Aug. 2025

Hackett had 54 PATs, a pair of field goals and logged touchbacks on 79 kickoffs last year. —John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Aug. 2025

Topline The first full week of the NFL preseason kicked off Thursday with a slate of three games, providing more teams and fans a look at some new rules that can impact first down measurements, touchbacks and more. —Antonio Pequeño Iv, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1884, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for touchback

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

Kids Definition

touchback

noun

touch·​back ˈtəch-ˌbak 

: the act of downing a football behind the goal line after receiving a kick or intercepting a pass