tackler

IPA/ˈtæklə(r)/
IPA/ˈtæklər/

tackler — noun

1. a player in a contact sport such as rugby or American football whose role is to

1.nounB2
Definition

a player in a contact sport such as rugby or American football whose role is to stop an opponent who is carrying the ball by grabbing and pushing them to the ground

Example

Rafael is the best tackler on the rugby team and has not missed a stop.

The young tackler learned to keep his head up and his feet moving in practice.

collocation: young tackler / best tackler

Common collocations
  • strong tackler
  • good tackler
  • hard tackler
  • best tackler
  • young tackler
Synonyms
  • defender

    broader term used in soccer and field hockey; not limited to physical contact

  • linebacker

    a specific position in American football; every linebacker is a tackler, but not every tackler is a linebacker

Antonyms
  • ball carrier

    the player who is running with the ball and is the target of the tackler

Usage Note

This agent noun is formed from the verb tackle plus the suffix -er. It is used mainly in contact sports such as rugby, American football, and Australian rules football, where stopping the ball carrier by physical contact is a core action.

Common Mistakes

He is a good tackle.
He is a good tackler.
'tackle' is the action or the equipment; 'tackler' is the person who performs the action.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All three words refer to players who try to stop an opponent from advancing, but they differ in scope and specificity. Tackler is a role-based term: it describes any player who performs a tackle, regardless of position or sport. Defender is broader still — it covers any player whose main job is to prevent scoring, whether through tackling, blocking, intercepting, or marking — and is common in soccer, basketball, and hockey. Linebacker is the narrowest: a named position in American football whose primary duty is to tackle runners and quarterbacks. In context, you can call a linebacker a tackler or a defender, but calling a soccer defender a linebacker would be incorrect. For example: 'The All Blacks have several strong tacklers in their back line' uses the general role; 'The linebacker read the play and made the tackle' names the position.

tackler ↗defender ↗linebacker

Etymology

Middle DutchEnglish

Tackler comes from the verb tackle (originally meaning 'to grip or seize,' borrowed from Middle Dutch takel meaning 'ship's rigging' or 'pulley'), combined with the agent suffix -er, which turns a verb into a noun meaning 'a person who does that action.' The sports sense of tackle developed in the mid-1800s, and tackler followed soon after as a natural way to name the person performing the action.