touch down

verb

touched down; touching down; touches 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

Synonyms of touch down

• perch
• land
• light

Examples of touch down in a Sentence

the plane will touch down in about 30 minutes

Recent Examples on the Web

After touching down at Charles de Gaulle Airport, the pair of besties wander the city, hitting flea markets and clubs alike. —Alexandra Jhamb Burns, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 June 2026

The weather service sent a survey team to North Kansas City on Monday to investigate whether a tornado touched down there as the storms moved through the metro with brilliant lightning and booming thunder. —Kansas City Star, 2 June 2026

The Griffin lander will demonstrate its ability to land with no official NASA payload, but will touch down on Mons Mouton near the western rim of Nobile crater close to the lunar south pole. —Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 30 May 2026

Arsenal touched down in Budapest in high spirits, having clinched the Premier League for the first time in 22 years and witnessed an outpouring of wild celebration from north London to far beyond. —Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 29 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1859, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for touch down

• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown
• hometown

Kids 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