touchdown

1.nounB2

Definition

the moment a plane, helicopter, or returning spacecraft first makes contact with the runway or ground after a flight.

Example

Passengers clapped the moment the pilot announced touchdown at Taoyuan Airport.

touchdown at + [airport]

The crew braced for a rough touchdown as strong winds shook the plane.

rough/smooth + touchdown

Common collocations

smooth touchdown
successful touchdown
rough touchdown
moment of touchdown
touchdown at the airport

Synonyms

landing
everyday word covering the whole landing process; touchdown names the precise moment of contact
arrival
broader — refers to reaching a destination, not the physical wheels-on-ground moment

Antonyms

takeoff
the moment a plane leaves the ground
liftoff
used mainly for rockets and spacecraft

Grammar Patterns

touchdown at [airport]

smooth/bumpy touchdown

Usage Note

Subject is usually an aircraft or spacecraft, not a person. Often appears with prepositions 'at' (airport), 'on' (surface), or as the object of 'before/after'.

Common Mistakes

I had a safe touchdown in Tokyo.

My plane had a safe touchdown in Tokyo.

the aircraft touches down, not the passenger.

2.nounB2

Definition

in American football, a score worth six points that a team gets when a player runs the ball into the other team's end zone or catches a pass while standing inside it.

Example

The Cowboys scored a touchdown in the final ten seconds and won the game.

score + a touchdown (most common verb)

Cole threw three touchdowns during his very first college game.

throw + a touchdown (quarterback collocation)

Common collocations

score a touchdown
throw a touchdown
winning touchdown
game-winning touchdown
touchdown pass

Synonyms

score
general sports term; touchdown is the specific name in American football

Grammar Patterns

score a touchdown

throw a touchdown

[number]-yard touchdown

Usage Note

Almost always combines with 'score' or 'throw'. A successful touchdown is worth six points, with a chance to add one or two more by kicking. Distinguish from sense 3: this sense is American football, sense 3 is rugby.

Common Mistakes

He made a touchdown of five points.

He scored a touchdown worth six points.

the standard verb is 'score', and a touchdown is six points, not five.

3.nounC1

Definition

a rugby play that earns a team points by pressing the ball onto the ground inside the area beyond the opposition's goal line.

Example

The young winger dived under three defenders to make the touchdown in the corner.

make / score + a touchdown

Felix lost his grip on the ball just before the touchdown, so the points were not given.

before the touchdown (timing)

Common collocations

score a touchdown
make a touchdown
clean touchdown
disallow a touchdown

Synonyms

try
the more current term in modern rugby; touchdown is older and sometimes still used informally
score
general term covering any points-earning play

Grammar Patterns

score a touchdown

Usage Note

Less common than the modern term 'try', which most rugby commentators now prefer. Distinguish from sense 2: rugby touchdowns require pressing the ball to the ground, while American-football touchdowns only require crossing the goal line.

Common Mistakes

She kicked a touchdown over the bar.

She kicked a conversion over the bar.

touchdowns are grounded by hand, not kicked.

1.verbintransitiveB2

Definition

(of a plane, helicopter, or spacecraft) to come down out of the sky and make contact with the ground; commonly written as the two-word verb 'touch down'.

Example

Our flight touched down at Heathrow forty minutes late because of fog.

touch down at + [airport] (intransitive)

The lunar lander finally touched down on the dusty surface near the south pole.

touch down on + [surface]

Common collocations

touch down safely
touch down gently
touch down on the runway

Synonyms

land
everyday and broader; covers the whole approach plus contact
alight
literary and rare for aircraft; more often used of birds

Antonyms

take off
leave the ground at the start of a flight

Grammar Patterns

touch down at [airport]

touch down on [surface]

Usage Note

Almost always written as two words ('touch down'). The single-word form 'touchdown' is used as the noun, not the verb. Subject is the aircraft or spacecraft, not the pilot or passengers.

Common Mistakes

The pilot touched down the plane at noon.

The plane touched down at noon.

this verb is intransitive; the aircraft is the subject, not what is being landed.

2.verbtransitiveC1

Definition

in rugby, to press the ball with your hand onto the ground inside the area behind the goal line, either to score points for your team or to stop the other team scoring on your own side.

Example

Nkechi dived through the mud and touched the ball down between the posts.

touch + the ball + down (transitive)

The fullback bravely touched the ball down behind his own line to stop a try.

defensive use: behind one's own line

Common collocations

touch the ball down
touch down behind the line

Synonyms

ground
technical rugby verb; very common in match commentary

Grammar Patterns

touch the ball down

Usage Note

Object must be 'the ball'; the particle 'down' is required. Used both for scoring (over the opponent's line) and for defending (behind one's own line). Most modern commentators prefer 'score a try' for the attacking action.

Common Mistakes

He touched down the ball over the line.

He touched the ball down over the line.

the object 'the ball' usually sits between 'touch' and 'down'.

Word family

touch down
verbB2
touch
verbA1
touch
nounA2
land
verbA2
landing
nounA2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

In American football, 'touchdown' is the headline six-point score, won by carrying the ball into the end zone or catching it there. A 'field goal' is a smaller three-point score made by kicking the ball through the uprights, usually attempted when a touchdown looks unlikely. 'Score' is the umbrella word for any points a team puts on the board, regardless of how. 'Try' is the rugby cousin of 'touchdown' — same idea (cross the line and ground the ball) but worth five points and used in rugby union, not American football. So a sportscaster might say: 'The Eagles couldn't manage a touchdown, so they settled for a field goal to keep the score close,' while a rugby commentator would never mix the two and would simply say 'a try in the corner'.

touchdown ↗field goalscore ↗try ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

touchdown pass
touchdown run
touchdown celebration

Adverbs

Phrases

score a touchdown
throw a touchdown
make a smooth touchdown
moment of touchdown

Prepositions

at (the airport)
on (the runway/surface)
before/after touchdown

Etymology

Old FrenchMiddle EnglishModern English

A straightforward English compound formed in the 1860s from the verb phrase 'touch down', combining 'touch' (Old French 'tochier', to make contact) with the directional adverb 'down'. The earliest sense was the rugby one — pressing the ball down behind the goal — and from there it travelled into early American football, which grew out of rugby in the 1870s. The aviation sense, describing the moment wheels first meet the runway, only became common after powered flight took off in the early twentieth century.

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touchdown

touchdown — noun

1. the moment a plane, helicopter, or returning spacecraft first makes contact with

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

2. in American football, a score worth six points that a team gets when a player ru

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

3. a rugby play that earns a team points by pressing the ball onto the ground insid

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

touchdown — verb

1. (of a plane, helicopter, or spacecraft) to come down out of the sky and make con

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

2. in rugby, to press the ball with your hand onto the ground inside the area behin

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

Word family

Synonym discussion

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

Prepositions

Etymology

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