back four

British

noun

soccer the defensive players in many modern team formations: usually two fullbacks and two centre backs

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In Le Tissier, Morgan and Gotham FC defender Jess Carter, Wiegman has players who can switch positions across the back four, despite centre-back being their preferred role.

From BBC

Luke McCowan stroked home the winner after just 28 seconds and played positively, while in the back four Dane Murray, and Marcelo Sarrachi stood out in a gutsy display.

From BBC

"There are some players suddenly back in the picture, they play a back four now and play with a different style which is a bit easier to translate to our structure at the moment. It's good competition."

From BBC

Why did Canada hold back four athletes from competing?

From Los Angeles Times

Everyone knew their jobs, with Fernandes dropping in and helping Kobbie Mainoo and Casemiro, who were screening the back four nicely.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023