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)
touched down; touching down; touches down
: to reach the ground : land
: 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
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
Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 17 May 2025
Tee Higgins caught three touchdown passes, including the game-winner in overtime, and Ja’Marr Chase and Mike Gesicki were also headaches to handle.
—Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 16 May 2025
Katie Sartoris, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 May 2025
People had nearly two hours of lead time before the EF-3 tornado touched down in the county at 9:51 pm.
—Marshall Shepherd, Forbes.com, 7 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for touchdown
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Noun
West Orange got rushing touchdowns from Jayden Ammons and Brian Dillard and quarterback AJ Chung threw touchdown passes to Dakiren Glover and Edison Delgado.
—Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 17 May 2025
Tee Higgins caught three touchdown passes, including the game-winner in overtime, and Ja’Marr Chase and Mike Gesicki were also headaches to handle.
—Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 16 May 2025
Verb
The first phase will only include a paved airstrip to allow for planes to touch down from the university’s Daytona campus, Tedrow told the board on Wednesday.
—Katie Sartoris, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 May 2025
People had nearly two hours of lead time before the EF-3 tornado touched down in the county at 9:51 pm.
—Marshall Shepherd, Forbes.com, 7 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for touchdown
Cite this Entry
“Touchdown.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/touchdown. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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