touchdown

noun touch·down \ ˈtəch-ˌdau̇n \

|Updated on: 18 Jun 2018

Definition of touchdown

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)

See touchdown defined for English-language learners

See touchdown defined for kids

Examples of touchdown in a Sentence

What was the plane's speed at touchdown?

Recent Examples of touchdown from the Web

American football has the touchdown dance, but could stand to have more dancing throughout.

— lisa ryan, The Cut, "Our 12 Biggest Crushes of the 2018 World Cup," 14 June 2018
Harbor won the game for his team, securing a touchdown at the last minute.

— rebecca farley, refinery29.com, "Why "Angelic" Clay Had The Most Dramatic Departure Of This Bachelorette Season," 12 June 2018
Witness how football players slap one another on the ass, or plow into one another in celebration of a touchdown.

— brian gresko, Longreads, "Wrestling With My Father," 12 June 2018
Tennyson Erickson’s wish was to spend some time with star wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and toward the end of practice on Tuesday, young Tennyson got to score a touchdown.

— bob mcmanaman, azcentral, "Arizona Cardinals QB Sam Bradford ramps up on-field participation, says body feels great," 12 June 2018
In fact, Mike got the kickoff ball and scored the first touchdown! Go, Mike!

— mallorie sullivan, Cincinnati.com, "'The Bachelorette': NFL free agent Clay Harbor somehow hurts himself playing football," 11 June 2018
The guys put on their best behavior: Sweet, sweet Clay teaches her some football touchdown moves, which very smoothly transitions into a kiss.

— anna moeslein, Glamour, "'The Bachelorette' Season 14 Episode 2 Recap: So Many Good Arie Luyendyk Jr. Burns," 4 June 2018
Zaire started just twice last season and did not throw a touchdown pass all season.

— edgar thompson, OrlandoSentinel.com, "SEC approves transfer rule changes, eases path for Gator Van Jefferson to play immediately," 1 June 2018
As a senior, Ross caught 19 passes for 286 yards without a touchdown.

— jon hale, The Courier-Journal, "Indianapolis Colts fans, meet former Kentucky receiver Kayaune Ross," 18 May 2018

These 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.

First Known Use of touchdown

1856

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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touch down

verb

Definition of touch 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

See touch down defined for kids

Examples of touch down in a Sentence

the plane will touch down in about 30 minutes

Recent Examples of touch down from the Web

Now a Michigan resident, Linden touched down in San Diego late Thursday night and on Sunday will pace 2-hour half marathoners in the Synchrony Rock ’n’ Roll San Diego Marathon & Half Marathon.

— don norcross, sandiegouniontribune.com, "‘Whirlwind’ continues for Boston champion," 1 June 2018
This kind of unbridled fandom doesn't usually touch down at awards ceremonies.

— rebecca farley, refinery29.com, "The 2018 BBMAs Didn't Know What To Do. So, They Did Everything.," 21 May 2018
In Tuesday’s storm, which saw tornados touch down in several communities and a macroburst rip apart parts of Brookfield, some 288 miles of electrical lines were destroyed.

— nicholas rondinone, courant.com, "Storm Outages Persist; Eversource Says 'Majority' Resolved By Midnight," 21 May 2018
The storm hasn’t even touched down on the island yet.

— ben marcus, The New Yorker, "Stay Down and Take It," 19 May 2018
The plane carrying the three men — all American citizens of Korean descent — touched down at at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland at 2:42 a.m. ET, more than 20 hours after they were handed over to U.S. officials at a hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea.

— adam edelman /, NBC News, "Pence lauds release of three Americans by N. Korea, predicts 'breakthrough' with Kim regime," 10 May 2018
Wow Air's first jet serving CVG touched down Wednesday night as airport officials cheered expanded international service to the region.

— alexander coolidge, Cincinnati.com, "First Wow Air jet takes off from CVG, restaurants consider expanding hours for late night flights," 9 May 2018
Next, the weather service said, an EF-0 tornado touched down in Belton at 9:22 p.m. and ended within the minute.

— matt campbell and lynn horsley, kansascity, "After 3 tornadoes strike KC area, residents question if sirens were used properly | The Kansas City Star," 3 May 2018
At least 18 tornadoes touched down in Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma, ABC News reported.

— natalie dreier, ajc, "Kansas, Oklahoma see first tornadoes of 2018," 2 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'touch down.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of touch down

1859

in the meaning defined at transitive sense

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

touch down Synonyms

TOUCHDOWN Defined for English Language Learners

touchdown

noun

Definition of touchdown for English Language Learners

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