quar·ter·back
ˈkwȯ(r)-tər-ˌbak 
1
: an offensive back in football who usually lines up behind the center, calls the signals, and directs the offensive play of the team
2
: one who directs and leads
quarterbacked; quarterbacking; quarterbacks
1
: to direct the offensive play of
quarterback a football team
2
: to give executive direction to : boss
quarterbacked the original buying syndicate—
Time
Time
: to play quarterback
Synonyms
Examples of quarterback in a Sentence
Verb
He quarterbacked his high school team.
She quarterbacked the company's latest ad campaign.
Recent Examples on the WebBen Morse, CNN, 23 Oct. 2024
The Midshipmen entered the contest No. 11 in the AP before falling, 27-7, to the Irish and fifth-year senior quarterback Joe Montana.
—Tom Layberger, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024
Jay R. Jordan, Axios, 13 Sep. 2024
In a matchup against Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud — another Stafford fan — Williams was 23 of 37 for 174 yards, with two interceptions, in a 19-13 defeat.
—Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for quarterback 
Noun
The quarterback has been relying on an aging Travis Kelce, rookie Xavier Worthy, Noah Gray and JuJu Smith-Schuster, so the addition of Hopkins would be a welcome relief to Kansas City’s offense.
—Ben Morse, CNN, 23 Oct. 2024
The Midshipmen entered the contest No. 11 in the AP before falling, 27-7, to the Irish and fifth-year senior quarterback Joe Montana.
—Tom Layberger, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024
Verb
In 2002, when Texans quarterback David Carr led the team to victory over the Dallas Cowboys in the Houston franchise's inaugural season.
—Jay R. Jordan, Axios, 13 Sep. 2024
In a matchup against Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud — another Stafford fan — Williams was 23 of 37 for 174 yards, with two interceptions, in a 19-13 defeat.
—Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for quarterback
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'quarterback.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near quarterback
Cite this Entry
“Quarterback.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quarterback. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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