Meaning & use
a tailback
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Meanings
nouncountableBritish
A long line of vehicles that are stuck in traffic and moving very slowly or not at all.
Grammar: Countable: a tailback, tailbacks. Often used with 'long' or 'mile-long'.
Patterns
- a tailback of traffic
- be stuck in a tailback
- cause a tailback
There was a five-mile tailback on the motorway after the accident.
We were stuck in a tailback for over an hour.
The roadworks caused a long tailback during rush hour.
nouncountableAmericansport
In American football, a player who runs with the ball from the back of the offensive line.
Grammar: Countable: a tailback, tailbacks. Often used in sports reports.
Patterns
- play tailback
- the tailback position
- a star tailback
He played tailback for his college team.
The tailback ran for over 100 yards in the game.
The coach decided to switch to a faster tailback.
Word forms
| plural | tailbacks |
|---|
Common combinations
- long tailback
- The accident caused a long tailback on the highway.
- traffic tailback
- There was a traffic tailback near the bridge.
- tailback on the motorway
- A tailback on the motorway delayed our journey.
- stuck in a tailback
- We were stuck in a tailback for hours.
Synonyms and how they differ
- traffic jam
- Traffic jam is the general term used in both British and American English; tailback is more specific to British English and often implies a long line.
- gridlock
- Gridlock means traffic is completely unable to move, while a tailback may still be creeping forward slowly.
Commonly confused: a tailback or tailgate?
a tailback vs tailgate
Tailgate can mean the door at the back of a vehicle or to drive too closely behind another car; tailback refers to the line of traffic.
Practice
In which sentence is 'tailback' used correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Tailback' means a long line of traffic, so being caught in one on a motorway is correct. Option 1 confuses with 'tailgate'; option 3 confuses with a football position (but soccer doesn't use tailback); option 4 is nonsensical.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a tailback”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.