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touch·down | \ ˈtəch-ˌdau̇n 
\
\Definition of touchdown
(Entry 1 of 2)
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
verbtouched down; touching down; touches down
Definition of touch down (Entry 2 of 2)
: 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
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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 Hatcher threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns, but the South Alabama defensive line harassed him all day.
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Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, "Jalen Tolbert, Desmond Trotter help South Alabama win Ladd-Peebles Stadium send-off, 34-30," 30 Nov. 2019 Cotton finished the night 11-of-16 passing for 174 yards and two touchdowns without an interception.
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Chip Souza, Arkansas Online, "PHOTOS: North Little Rock pounds Bentonville," 30 Nov. 2019 Wright was 14-for-18 passing for 254 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 54 yards on 10 carries.
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Kyle Neddenriep, Indianapolis Star, "Spencer Wright shines as Western Boone makes it back-to-back Class 2A titles in a rout," 30 Nov. 2019 Coan ignored sleet, snow and wind to complete 15 of 21 passes for 280 yards and two touchdowns.
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Jeff Potrykus, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, ""These are the reasons you play football": Wisconsin has the axe back and a chance to play for the Big Ten title," 30 Nov. 2019 Quarterback Malcolm Perry has rushed for 1,354 yards and 18 touchdowns.
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Joseph Duarte, Houston Chronicle, "College football preview: Houston vs. Navy," 29 Nov. 2019 Tate has thrown for 1,726 yards and 12 touchdowns with eight intercepted passes.
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Michelle Gardner, azcentral, "Territorial Cup: ASU uses three quarterbacks to get prepared for rival Arizona," 29 Nov. 2019 The Ravens’ Mark Andrews is in his second season and leads the team in receptions with 50 for 643 yards and six touchdowns.
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Mike Preston, baltimoresun.com, "Preston’s preview: Key matchup, what’s at stake in Sunday’s Ravens-49ers game," 29 Nov. 2019 After Lions cornerback Darius Slay undercut Trubisky’s late throw on a crossing route to Allen Robinson and snagged it, Trubisky completed 10 of his remaining 11 passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns.
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Rich Campbell, chicagotribune.com, "Column: ‘Mitch’s day’ highlights 24-20 comeback win over the lowly Lions and shows why Trubisky isn’t going anywhere in 2020," 28 Nov. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb One of the people in the room waiting for the Viking lander to touch down was Patricia Ann Straat Ph.D., who now resides in Sykesville.
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Mary Grace Keller, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, "In search of life: Sykesville woman pens book on first NASA venture to land on Mars, 1976 Viking mission," 10 Nov. 2019 The tornado, which touched down at 1:35 p.m. Thursday, was an EF0 with top winds of 55-65 mph, according to a preliminary report from the weather service.
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Leigh Morgan, al, "National Weather Service confirms tornado touchdown in Mobile area on Thursday," 8 Nov. 2019 The support is relatively widespread, with slightly more — over 6 in 10 in favor — in Howard and Anne Arundel counties combined, the latter where the bridge touches down on the western shore.
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Emily Guskin, Washington Post, "Majority of Marylanders support expanding the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Post-U. Md. poll finds," 25 Oct. 2019 From there, bikes and pedestrians would enter the bridge on the right side, zip along the undulating road with its web of steel trussing, and touch down near San Quentin.
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Rachel Swan, SFChronicle.com, "Cyclists anxiously await new bay crossing. Richmond-San Rafael drivers not so thrilled," 4 Oct. 2019 The last one to touch down in the region was in March 2014, about four miles east of Woodland, according to Karleisa Rogacheski, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.
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Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, "Rare tornado touches down in Yolo County college town," 29 Sep. 2019 To kick things off, Drake enlisted members of this year's Millennium Tour, including B2K, Mario, Pretty Ricky, Lloyd, Ying Yang Twins, and Bobby V, to touch down in his hometown.
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Carl Lamarre, Billboard, "Top Five Moments From OVO Fest 2019 Night One," 5 Aug. 2019 That vehicle became the first to touch down on the Red Planet and successfully executed its mission in 1976.
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Marco Santana, orlandosentinel.com, "Apollo 11 moon mission drew space-related companies to Central Florida," 23 June 2019 After the team touched down in Houston on Tuesday evening, head coach Steve Kerr canceled practice to ensure that the day wouldn’t count against the 45-day limit of Bowman and fellow two-way-contract player Damion Lee.
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Connor Letourneau, SFChronicle.com, "Ky Bowman can’t afford an SF apartment, but he’s proving he belongs in the NBA," 11 Nov. 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'touchdown.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
A Journey to the Moon in 12 Words
A Journey to the Moon in 12 Words
Read this before attempting a moon shot
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Last Updated
3 Dec 2019
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Cite this Entry
“Touchdown.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/touchdown. Accessed 10 December 2019.
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More Definitions for touchdown
touchdown
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of touchdown
American football : a score that is made by carrying the ball over the opponent's goal line or by catching the ball while standing in the end zone
rugby : the act of scoring points by putting the ball on the ground behind an opponent's goal line
: the moment when an airplane or spacecraft touches the ground at the end of a flight
touchdown
nountouch·down | \ ˈtəch-ˌdau̇n \
\Kids Definition of touchdown
: a score made in football by carrying or catching the ball over the opponent's goal line
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The first known use of touchdown was in 1856
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