Word.ws English Dictionary

back

[bax]UK/bæk/

back adjective: at or near the rear. Also the clipping of backstroke.

back: at or near the rear
Image: "S. Ogawa, Photographer, Yokohama", Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Adjective

back (not generally comparable, comparative more back, superlative most back)

  1. (not comparable, usually) At or near the rear.
    • Go in the back door of the house.
    • Nothing was too small to receive attention, if a supervising eye could suggest improvements likely to conduce to the common welfare. Mr. Gordon Burnage, for instance, personally visited dust-bins and back premises, accompanied by a sort of village bailiff, going his round like a commanding officer...1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XIX, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC
    Synonyms:
    rear
  2. (not comparable, predicative, usually) Returned or restored to a previous place or condition.
    • He was on vacation, but now he’s back.
    • The office fell into chaos when you left, but now order is back.
  3. (not comparable, usually) Not current.
    • I’d like to find a back issue of that magazine.
    Synonyms:
    former, previous
  4. (not comparable, usually) Situated away from the main or most frequented areas.
    • They took a back road.
    • He lives out in the back country.
  5. (not comparable, usually) In arrears; overdue.
    • They still owe three months’ back rent.
    • Several of the former Hotel York workers have filed with the California Labor Division to collect what they feel is owed them in the way of back overtime.1980 December 20, David Lamble, “Workers, Owners Battle It Out At SF Gay Hotel”, in Gay Community News, volume 8, number 22, page 9
  6. (not comparable, usually) Moving or operating backward.
    • back action
  7. (comparable, not comparable, usually) Pronounced with the highest part of the body of the tongue toward the back of the mouth, near the soft palate (most often describing a vowel).
    • The vowel of lot has a back vowel in most dialects of England.

Adverb

back (comparative further back or farther back, superlative furthest back or farthest back)

  1. (not comparable) To or in a previous condition or place.
    • He gave back the money.
    • I left my mobile phone back at the hotel. I’ll have to go back and get it.
  2. In a direction opposite to that in which someone or something is facing or normally pointing.
    • Someone pushed me in the chest and I fell back.
    • The grandfather clock toppled back and crashed to the ground.
  3. In a direction opposite to the usual or desired direction of movement or progress, physically or figuratively.
    • Wind the film back a few frames.
    • Don’t forget to put the clocks back by one hour tonight!
  4. Towards, into or in the past.
    • These records go back years.
    • He built a time machine and travelled back to 1800.
  5. Away from someone or something; at a distance.
    • Keep back! It could explode at any moment!
  6. Away from the front or from an edge (of something or someone).
    • Sit all the way back in your chair.
    • Step back from the curb.
  7. So as to shrink, recede or move aside, or cause to do so.
    • This tree is dying back.
    • Clear back all this vegetation.
  8. In a manner that impedes.
    • Fear held him back.
  9. (not comparable) In a reciprocal manner; in return.
    • If you hurt me, I’ll hurt you back.
    • The light bounces back off the mirror.
  10. (postpositional) Earlier, ago.
    • We met many years back.
    • I last saw him a day or two back.
  11. To a later point in time. See also put back.
    • The meeting has been moved back an hour. It was at 3 o’clock; now it's at 4 o’clock.

Noun (1)

back (countable and uncountable, plural backs)

  1. The rear of the body, especially the part between the neck and the end of the spine and opposite the chest and belly.
    • Could you please scratch my back?
    • It was not far from the house; but the ground sank into a depression there, and the ridge of it behind shut out everything except just the roof of the tallest hayrick. As one sat on the sward behind the elm, with the back turned on the rick and nothing in front but the tall elms and the oaks in the...1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC
    1. The spine and associated tissues.
      • I hurt my back lifting those crates.
    2. (slang, uncountable) Large and attractive buttocks.
      • Take the average black man and ask him that.
        She gotta pack much back.1992, “Baby Got Back”, Sir Mix-A-Lot (lyrics)
      • He got his hand on her behind and caressed her firm, ample flesh.[…]“You got some back on you, girl.”2002, George Pelecanos, Right as Rain: A Novel, →ISBN, page 123
    3. (figuratively) The part of a piece of clothing which covers the back.
      • I still need to finish the back of your dress.
    4. The backrest, the part of a piece of furniture which receives the human back.
      • Can you fix the back of this chair?
    5. (obsolete) That part of the body that bears clothing. (Now used only in the phrase clothes on one's back.)
      • Do thou but think / What ’tis to cram a maw or clothe a back / From such a filthy vice1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure
  2. That which is farthest away from the front.
    • He sat in the back of the room.
    1. The side of any object which is opposite the front or useful side.
      • Turn the book over and look at the back.
    2. The edge of a book which is bound.
      • The titles are printed on the backs of the books.
    3. The inside margin of a page.
      • Convenience and custom have familiarised us to the printed page being a little higher than the middle of the leaf, and to its having a little more margin at the fore edge than in the back.1841, William Savage, A Dictionary of the Art of Printing, Ayer Publishing, published 1965, →ISBN, page 472
    4. The side of a blade opposite the side used for cutting.
      • Tap it with the back of your knife.
    5. The reverse side; the side that is not normally seen.
      • I hung the clothes on the back of the door.
    6. Area behind, such as the backyard of a house or the rear storeroom of a retail store.
      • We’ll meet out in the back of the library.
      • Are you sure you're totally out of hair gel? Could you please check in the back?
    7. The part of something that goes last.
      • The car was near the back of the train.
    8. In some team sports, a position behind most players on the team.
      • The backs were lined up in an I formation.
      • […]Rovers were also aided by some poor defending from West Brom, whose lapses at the back undid their excellent work on the ball and condemned Roberto di Matteo's Baggies side to a third straight defeat.2010 December 28, Kevin Darlin, “West Brom 1-3 Blackburn”, in BBC
  3. (figuratively) The upper part of a natural object which is considered to resemble an animal’s back.
    • The small boat raced over the backs of the waves.
  4. A support or resource in reserve.
    • This project / Should have a back or second, that might hold, / If this should blast in proof.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
  5. The keel and keelson of a ship.
    • The ship’s back broke in the pounding surf.
  6. The roof of a horizontal underground passage.
    • The stope is kept full of broken ore, sufficient only being drawn to leave a working space between the floor of broken ore and the back of the stope.1911, Robert Bruce Brinsmade, Mining Without Timber, page 161
  7. (slang, uncountable) Effort, usually physical.
    • Put some back into it!
  8. A non-alcoholic drink (often water or a soft drink), to go with hard liquor or a cocktail.
    • Could I get a martini with a water back?
  9. Among leather dealers, one of the thickest and stoutest tanned hides.
    • […]as delivered by a tanner the average weight of a back and two strips would be about 42 pounds[…].1848, Maine Supreme Judicial Court, Maine Reports, volume 6, page 397

Verb

back (third-person singular simple present backs, present participle backing, simple past and past participle backed)

  1. (intransitive) To go in the reverse direction.
    • The train backed into the station.
    • The horse refuses to back.
  2. (transitive) To support.
    • I back you all the way.
    • Which horse are you backing in this race?
  3. To change direction contrary to the normal pattern; that is, to shift anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere, or clockwise in the southern hemisphere.
  4. To brace the yards so that the wind presses on the front of the sail, to slow the ship.
  5. To lay out a second, smaller anchor to provide additional holding power.
  6. (UK) To stand still behind another dog which has pointed.
  7. (transitive) To push or force backwards.
    • to back oxen
    • The mugger backed her into a corner and demanded her wallet.
  8. (obsolete, transitive) To get upon the back of; to mount.
    • I will back him [a horse] straight.c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
    • The horse was the grey stallion he aye rode, the very beast he had ridden for many a wager with the wild lads of the Cross Keys. No man but himself durst back it, and it had lamed many a hostler lad and broke two necks in its day.1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide
  9. (obsolete, transitive) To place or seat upon the back.
    • Great Jupiter, upon his eagle backed, / Appeared to me.1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
  10. To make a back for; to furnish with a back.
    • to back books
  11. To adjoin behind; to be at the back of.
    • He hath a garden circummured with brick,
      Whose western side is with a vineyard backedc. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
    • the chalk cliffs which back the beach1877, Thomas Henry Huxley, Physiography: An Introduction to the Study of Nature
  12. To write upon the back of, possibly as an endorsement.
    • to back a letter; to back a note or legal document
Show 4 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. To sign or endorse (a warrant, issued in another county, to apprehend an offender).
  2. To row backward with (oars).
    • to back the oars
  3. (Multicultural-London-English, transitive) To draw from behind the back (a knife etc.) (as also back out).
    • Sticks and Stones may break my bones
      Not when I back this botty2017 August 4, “Sticks and Stones”performed by Zone 2 (Kwengface x Trizzac x PS)
    • When I back this blade, wallahi
      The hearts get beat like they just saw jihadi2020 August 13, TwoLzz, “TwentyTwo”, 1:14–1:18
  4. (Nigeria, transitive) To carry an infant on one’s back.

Noun (2)

back (plural backs)

  1. A large shallow vat; a cistern, tub, or trough, used by brewers, distillers, dyers, picklers, gluemakers, and others, for mixing or cooling wort, holding water, hot glue, etc.
  2. A ferryboat.

Proper noun capitalized: Back

Back

  1. A surname.
  2. A settlement on the Isle of Lewis, Western Isles council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NB4840).

Also used as

back is also the clipping of backstroke.

back meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

back in Hindi

phonetics: produced in the back of the mouth
पश्व paśva
to or in a previous condition or place
वापस vāpas, पीछे pīche
the rear of body
पीठ pīṭh, पुश्त puśt
the backrest, the part of a piece of furniture which receives the human back — see also backrest
पुश्त puśt, پُشْت puśt

back in Tamil

the rear of body
முதுகு mutuku

back in Marathi

the rear of body
पाठ pāṭh

back in Urdu

to or in a previous condition or place
واپس vāpas
the rear of body
پِیٹھ pīṭh, پُشْت puśt, ظَہْر zahr
More languagesFewer languages
back in Bengali
পিঠ piṭh
back in Telugu
వెనుకకు venukaku, వెనుక venuka, మునుపటి munupaṭi, దూరము dūramu
back in Malayalam
പിന്താങ്ങുക pintāṅṅuka
back in Kannada
ಬೆನ್ನು bennu
back in Punjabi
ਢੂਹੀ ḍhūhī
back in Gujarati
પાછળ pāchaḷ
back in Odia
ପିଠି piṭhi
back in Sanskrit
पुनर् punar, पृष्ठ pṛṣṭha
back in Sinhala
පිට piṭa
back in Assamese
পোকৰ pükor, পিঠি pithi
back in Nepali
पश्व paśwa, ढाड ḍhāḍ, पीठ pīṭh
back in Pashto
شا šâ, څټ śëṭ, شاته šâta, وروسته wrusta
back in Tagalog
likod, pinakalikod, huling dulo, huling bahagi
back in Arabic
خَلْفِيّ ḵalfiyy, ظَهْر ẓahr, ضهر ḍahr, ظَهَر ḍahar
back in Malay
belakang, balik
back in Indonesian
punggung, belakang, mundur, dukung
back in Persian
پشت pošt, پُشْت pušt, عقب به, پس
back in Thai
หลัง lǎng
back in Vietnamese
lùi lại, lại, lưng
back in Myanmar
ကျော kyau:

Examples of back in a sentence

  • It's OK that the highway is jammed, because I know a back way. It's another good way to get there.
  • Her arm was bent back at an odd angle.
  • This mishap has set the project back considerably.
  • Think back to how you felt last year.
  • Everything was simpler back in the old days.
  • Draw back the curtains and let in some light.

All 40 example sentences with back

Synonyms of back

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of back

Forms of back

Adjective
comparativemore back
superlativemost back
Adverb
comparativefurther back
comparativefarther back
superlativefurthest back
superlativefarthest back
Noun
pluralbacks
Verb
third-person singular presentbacks
present participlebacking
past participlebacked
pastbacked

Past tense of back: backed

Plural of back: backs

Origin of back

From Middle English bak, from Old English bæc, from Proto-West Germanic *bak, from Proto-Germanic *baką, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- (“to bend”). The adverb represents an aphetic form of aback. Compare Middle Low German bak (“back”), from Old Saxon bak, and West Frisian bekling (“chair back”), Old High German bah, Swedish and Norwegian bak. Cognate with German Bache (“sow [adult female hog]”).

Borrowed from French bac.

Words formed from back

Phrases with back

180 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with back

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about back

What does back mean?
Back means at or near the rear.
What is back in Hindi?
Back in Hindi is पश्व (paśva), पुश्त (puśt), वापस (vāpas). See Back meaning in Hindi.
How do you use back in a sentence?
It's OK that the highway is jammed, because I know a back way. It's another good way to get there.
What part of speech is back?
Back can be an adjective, an adverb, a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce back?
Back is pronounced /bæk/ (UK).

Words near back in the dictionary

  1. Baciroa
  2. Bacis
  3. bacitracin
  4. bacitracins
  5. Baciu
  6. back
  7. back action
  8. back actor
  9. back actors
  10. back against the wall
  11. back alley

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: back (page history and authors); Back (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-back.ogg.

Cite this entry: “back.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/back. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.