drop back
verb, noun
Forms drops back dropping back dropped back drop backs
- verb (American football) Of a quarterback or other player in the backfield, to take a number of steps back from the line of scrimmage immediately after the snap or hike of the ball, to avoid defenders. “The Tiger quarterback is dropping back to pass.”
- verb To move to a lower (or slower) position in a race or competition; to slow down so as to meet up with someone behind oneself
- verb Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see drop, back.
- noun (American football) The act by a player in the backfield of dropping back from the line of scrimmage after the hike of the ball. “With his ankle injury his drop back is not pretty.”
Synonyms
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “drop back”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details