quarterback

English

Etymology

From quarter +‎ back, in reference to position in front of the halfback position.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkwɔːtəbak/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

quarterback (plural quarterbacks)

1. (American football, Canadian football) An offensive back whose primary job is to pass the ball in a play.
   • 2020 April 24, Ken Belson, Ben Shpigel, “Full Round 1 2020 N.F.L. Picks and Analysis”, in New York Time‎^[2]:

     Standing 6-foot-6, 237 pounds, Herbert’s size and arm strength are consistent with a prototypical N.F.L. quarterback, and he led the Ducks to a Pac-12 championship and a victory at the Rose Bowl in January with not much talent at receiver.

2. (American football, historical) An offensive back who receives the snap (hike) and then blocks the defense from crossing the line of scrimmage; a blocking back.
3. (rugby football, historical) A position just behind the forwards, or one who plays this position.

Derived terms

• armchair quarterback
• dimeback
• Monday-morning quarterback
• Monday morning quarterback
• nickelback

 

Related terms

• cornerback
• dimeback
• linebacker
• nickelback

 

Translations

American football passing back

• Catalan: rerequart (ca) m
• Finnish: pelinrakentaja (fi)
• French: quart-arrière (fr) m, quarterback (fr) m
• Georgian: კვოტერბეკი (ḳvoṭerbeḳi)
• German: Quarterback (de) m
• Japanese: クォーターバック (ja) (kuōtābakku)
• Marathi: क्वार्टरबॅक (kvārṭarbĕk)
• Russian: квотербек (ru) m (kvoterbek)

Verb

quarterback (third-person singular simple present quarterbacks, present participle quarterbacking, simple past and past participle quarterbacked)

1. (American football) To play the position of quarterback.
2. (by extension) To lead a team or group; to be primarily responsible for some group project or activity.
   • 1981, “Interiors roundtable”, in Lodging Hospitality, volume 37, page 250:

     Wayman's major responsibility is to quarterback the team, coordinating business development, project scheduling and management and quality control.

Translations

play the position of the quarterback

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} mariscal (es) m

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from English quarterback.

Noun

quarterback c (singular definite quarterbacken, plural indefinite quarterbacker or quarterbacks)

1. A quarterback.
   • 2015, Jeppe Dong Abrahamsen, Super Bowl-vinder scorer kassen med klubskifte‎^[3]:

     et beløb kun de allerbedste quarterbacker kan hamle op med

     a sum with which only the very best quarterbacks can compete

   • 2015, Jeppe Dong Abrahamsen, Marie Louise Balling, Tom Brady - Super Bowl-ringenes herre‎^[4]:

     Seks andre quarterbacker blev valgt før ham. Seks andre spillere blev valgt af Patriots inden ham.

     Six other quarterbacks were chosen before him. Six other players were chosen by Patriots before him.

   • 2009, Anders Henriksen, Arven efter Bush, Gyldendal A/S, →ISBN, page 81:

     Cheney var quarterbacken på det lokale amerikanske fodboldhold, som endte med at gifte sig med den populære pige fra skolen, Lynne Vincent. En pige, der var statsmester i 'baton-twirling'.

     Cheney was the quarterback on the local American football team, who ended up marrying the popular girl on the school, Lynne Vincent. A girl, who was a state champion in 'baton-twirling'.

   • 2014, Lee Nichols, Haunting Emma #1: Hjemsøgt, Tellerup A/S, →ISBN:

     Se, det er hvad man får ud af næsten at være en slags kærester med quarterbacken. På vej gennem æblehaven reciterede Harry et digt dedikeret til Natalies røv. Helt seriøst. Det var i terza rima, fortalte han os, med parrim.

     See, that's what you get from almost sort of dating the quarterback. Walking through the apple garden, Harry recited a poem dedicated to Natalie's arse. Seriously. It was in terza rima, he told us, with couplets.

   • 2014, Alison Roberts, Laura Iding, Brændende begær/Brud til enlig far, Förlaget Harlequin AB, →ISBN:

     Det havde hun sidst gjort, da hun havde været 16 og forelsket i Steven Wade, quarterbacken på skolens fodboldhold, som ikke havde vidst, at skolens største bogorm overhovedet fandtes.

     The last time she had done that, she had been 16 and in love with Steven Wade, the quarterback on the school's football team, who had not known that the greatest bookworm of the school even existed.

   • 2012, Jimmi Willemoes Jensen, Manning sætter All Star-rekord‎^[5]:

     Specielt når man ser på, hvor mange andre quarterbacker, der har haft store sæsoner i AFC, ...

     Especially when you observe how many other quarterbacks have had large seasons in AFC, ...

Declension

Declension of quarterback

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	quarterback	quarterbacken	quarterbacker	quarterbackerne
genitive	quarterbacks	quarterbackens	quarterbackers	quarterbackernes

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English quarterback.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kwaʁ.təʁ.bak/

Noun

quarterback m (plural quarterbacks)

1. quarterback

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English quarterback.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kwaɾteɾˈbak/ [kwaɾ.t̪eɾˈβ̞ak]
• Rhymes: -ak
• Syllabification: quar‧ter‧back

Noun

quarterback m (plural quarterbacks)

1. quarterback

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.