noun ·3 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The defensive players who are in position behind the defensive linemen and in front of the safeties and cornerbacks and whose principal responsibilities are to tackle runners and to defend against shorter passes.

   "The linebacker corralled the runner who had slipped through the hole."

2. 2
   (American football) the position of a defensive football player who plays close behind the line of scrimmage wordnet
3. 3
   a defensive football player who takes a position close behind the linemen wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

line backer

Example

More examples

"Tom is built like a linebacker."

Etymology

From line + backer.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.