tailback

noun

ˈtāl-ˌbak How to pronounce tailback (audio)
Definition of tailbacknext
British
as in jam
a crowded mass (as of cars) that impedes or blocks movement stuck in a five-mile tailback on the southbound carriageway

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tailback His competition for backup tailback, Jordan James, didn’t take part in the last third of practice. — Matt Barrows, New York Times, 28 July 2026 That should allow star running back De’Von Achane to find space to scoot around the edge, or for rotational tailbacks Jaylen Wright and Ollie Gordon II to pound it along the left side. — David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 17 July 2026 The 27-year-old tailback was the Broncos’ offensive MVP over the first 10 weeks of a wild, wacky 2025. — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 9 June 2026 The Pro Bowl tailback faces five charges, including a felony count of strangulation and suffocation, along with misdemeanor counts of battery, criminal damage to property, disorderly conduct and intimidation of a victim. — Alejandro Avila, FOXNews.com, 2 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for tailback
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tailback
  1. jam
  2. congestion
  3. bottleneck
  4. snarl
Noun
  • The inside is lined with a spread like Nutella, cookie butter, strawberry jam or peanut butter, then filled with soft serve and finished with fruit, drizzles and toppings.
    — Brittany Anas, Denver Post, 11 Aug. 2026
  • The menu seems to change, but for now, there’s a Hellraiser for a person who’s a bit of a heat-seeker with bacon, blue cheese, mozzarella and jalapeno-pistachio jam.
    — John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of jam
Noun
  • That could further reduce the canal's transit capacity and exacerbate congestion across global shipping routes.
    — , CNBC, 7 Aug. 2026
  • These improvements will reduce congestion, improve freight movement, and strengthen Kane County’s connections to the regional and national economy.
    — Courier-News, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of congestion
Noun
  • But the new study raises questions of whether delays in treatment from patient bottlenecks could negate those benefits.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Altman’s magic email address OpenAI is seeking to clear internal bottlenecks with an email address that lands in the inboxes of the company’s leadership team.
    — Diane Brady, Fortune, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of bottleneck
Noun
  • Arguably the standout set of the entire festival, her set was grimy and dark, featuring songs off her new album, Music, Fashion, Film, for the first time with a permanent snarl.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 3 Aug. 2026
  • The wildly popular Instagram page was offline for a hot minute, leaving the general pop pining for videos on the myriad zany happenings in our city, from traffic snarls and celebrity shenanigans to animal encounters and fights outside the club.
    — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 30 July 2026
Definition of snarl

Browse Nearby Words

tail
tailback
tailbacks
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tailback.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tailback. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All