Dictionary

halfback en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈhæfˌbæk/ (General-American)
• (US) audio

Etymology

From half + back, in reference to position on the field of play; compare fullback. In the sense of someone who moves to Florida and then to a more temperate climate, from moving "half way back"

Meanings

1. (qualifier:field sports) Any of various positions on the field of play between the forwards and the fullbacks.
2. (qualifier:field sports) A player who occupies one of these positions. ▸ An offensive back whose primary jobs are to carry the ball on running plays and to serve as a receiver or blocker on passing plays.
3. (Canadian, qualifier:field sports) A player who occupies one of these positions. ▸ A defensive back whose primary jobs are to cover the slotback on passing plays and prevent running plays from going to the outside.
4. (qualifier:field sports; field hockey; field hockey) A player who occupies one of these positions. ▸ A player in the halfback position, with both offensive and defensive roles.
5. (qualifier:field sports; Australian rules football; Australian rules football) A player who occupies one of these positions. ▸ One of three players (the centre halfback and two halfback flankers) on the line between the centre line and the fullback line.
6. (qualifier:field sports) A player who occupies one of these positions. ▸ The player who feeds the ball into the scrum, and receives the ball as it emerges from the back of the scrum.
7. A person from the northern United States who moves to Florida, but then due to the heat or other issues, moves again to a more temperate climate, primarily the Carolinas.
   • Four years ago, Diane got a small inheritance and they became what Paul Klein calls “halfbacks” — people who moved to Florida from the North and have progressed partly back. 2012 September 11, Robert Strauss, “Heading South, but Stopping Short of Florida”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 13 Sep 2012:
   • One of my favorite stories of North Carolina’s demographic growth and change is the “halfback.” 2016 August 11, Rebecca Tippett, “NC in Focus: Examining “halfback” trends”, in Carolina Demography:
   • “‘Halfbacks’ are snowbirds from Michigan who have tried wintering in Florida but decided to move…half way back. 2019 March 4, Michael Patrick Shiels, “Lansing to low country – half-back snowbirds settle in SC”, in Lansing State Journal:

Forms

Deriveds

defensive halfback

halfback en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˈhæfˌbæk/ (General-American)
• (US) audio

Etymology

From half + back, in reference to position on the field of play; compare fullback. In the sense of someone who moves to Florida and then to a more temperate climate, from moving "half way back"

Meanings

1. To play in the position of halfback.

Forms