touchdown

[ tuhch-doun ]
See synonyms for touchdown on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Football. an act or instance of scoring six points by being in possession of the ball on or behind the opponent's goal line.

  2. Rugby. the act of a player who touches the ball on or to the ground inside his own in-goal.

  1. the act or the moment of landing: the aircraft's touchdown.

Origin of touchdown

1
First recorded in 1860–65; touch + down1

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use touchdown in a sentence

  • He did allow commandos to touch down in order to collect DNA samples so the military could prove Nabhan had died.

    Black Hawk Down’s Long Shadow | Daniel Klaidman | October 9, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • The ship would touch down on three worlds, and on any of them the Lhari might have his description, or his alias!

    The Colors of Space | Marion Zimmer Bradley
  • Two more plays, Stonewell carrying the ball, brought a touch-down to Annapolis and Stonewell kicked a goal.

    An Annapolis First Classman | Lt.Com Edward L. Beach
  • If he scores a touch-down—that is, if it goes inside the line, it counts three points to the side throwing the ball.

  • Stevenson thinks 62 Im a wonder, and I dont know a touch-down from aa forward kick!

    The Turner Twins | Ralph Henry Barbour
  • From there the home team managed to push its way to a touch-down, the third and last score of the day.

    The Turner Twins | Ralph Henry Barbour

British Dictionary definitions for touchdown

touchdown

/ (ˈtʌtʃˌdaʊn) /


noun
  1. the moment at which a landing aircraft or spacecraft comes into contact with the landing surface

  2. rugby the act of placing or touching the ball on the ground behind the goal line, as in scoring a try

  1. American football a scoring play worth six points, achieved by being in possession of the ball in the opposing team's end zone: Abbreviation: TD See also field goal (def. 2)

verbtouch down (intr, adverb)
  1. (of a space vehicle, aircraft, etc) to land

  2. rugby to place the ball behind the goal line, as when scoring a try

  1. informal to pause during a busy schedule in order to catch up, reorganize, or rest

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with touchdown

touchdown

Land on the ground, as in The spacecraft touched down on schedule. This idiom was first recorded in 1935.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.