touch·down
ˈtəch-ˌdau̇n 
1
: the act of touching a football to the ground behind an opponent's goal
specifically
: the act of scoring six points in American football by being lawfully in possession of the ball on, above, or behind an opponent's goal line when the ball is declared dead
2
: the act or moment of touching down (as with an airplane or spacecraft)
touched down; touching down; touches down
: to reach the ground : land
: to place (the ball in rugby) by hand on the ground on or over an opponent's goal line in scoring a try or behind one's own goal line as a defensive measure
Examples of touchdown in a Sentence
Noun
What was the plane's speed at touchdown?
Verb
the plane will touch down in about 30 minutes
Recent Examples on the Web
Jackie Wattles, CNN, 6 Mar. 2025
In some ways, the landing attempt was a chance at redemption for Intuitive Machines after Odysseus, Athena’s predecessor, suffered a skewed lunar touchdown that hindered its surface operations.
—Gayoung Lee, Scientific American, 6 Mar. 2025
Diana Lodderhose, Deadline, 11 Mar. 2025
The Cyndi Lauper trek touches down Aug. 23 at Toyota Amphitheatre in Wheatland, Aug. 24 at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View and Aug. 26 at Toyota Pavilion at Concord.
—Jim Harrington, The Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for touchdown
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Noun
Firefly’s Blue Ghost vehicle made a safe, upright touchdown early Sunday morning.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN, 6 Mar. 2025
In some ways, the landing attempt was a chance at redemption for Intuitive Machines after Odysseus, Athena’s predecessor, suffered a skewed lunar touchdown that hindered its surface operations.
—Gayoung Lee, Scientific American, 6 Mar. 2025
Verb
Brian Durnin’s debut feature Spilt Milk took home the Audience Award at the Glasgow Film Festival this year, wrapping up a starry 21st edition that saw the likes of James McAvoy, Jessica Lange, Ed Harris, Toni Collette, Tim Roth and Takehiro Hira all touch down at the Scottish event.
—Diana Lodderhose, Deadline, 11 Mar. 2025
The Cyndi Lauper trek touches down Aug. 23 at Toyota Amphitheatre in Wheatland, Aug. 24 at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View and Aug. 26 at Toyota Pavilion at Concord.
—Jim Harrington, The Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for touchdown
Cite this Entry
“Touchdown.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/touchdown. Accessed 14 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
touchdown
1 of 2 noun
touch·down
ˈtəch-ˌdau̇n
1
: the act of touching a football to the ground behind an opponent's goal
2
: the act of scoring six points in American football by carrying the ball over the opponent's goal line
3
: the act or moment of touching down (as with an airplane or spacecraft)
touch down
2 of 2 verb(ˈ)təch-ˈdau̇n
: to reach the ground : land
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