Word.ws English Dictionary

back-ganging

Syllables: back-gang·ing/ˈbækˌɡæŋɪŋ/

back-ganging adjective: behind or late in payment or rent; in arrears.

Adjective

back-ganging (comparative more back-ganging, superlative most back-ganging)

  1. (Northern England, Scotland) Behind or late in payment or rent; in arrears.
    • Here he opened the fatal volume [a rental book]; I have heard of a thing they call Doomsday book—I am clear it has been a rental of back-ganging tenants.1824 June, [Walter Scott], “Letter XI. The Same to the Same [Darsie Latimer to Alan Fairford].”, in Redgauntlet, […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and...
  2. (Northern England, Scotland) Not in a good financial state; unprosperous.
    Synonyms:
    backgain
  3. (Northern England, Scotland) Not in good health; sickly, unhealthy.
    Synonyms:
    backgain

Noun

back-ganging (uncountable)

  1. (Northern England, Scotland) A going back; a returning; also, the way back.
  2. (Northern England, Scotland) A deterioration, especially in circumstances or health; a relapse, a retrograde.
    Synonyms:
    backgain

Synonyms of back-ganging

Forms of back-ganging

comparativemore back-ganging
superlativemost back-ganging
alternative formback-gangin
alternative formback-gannin

Origin of back-ganging

From back- + ganging (“going”), from gang (“to go, proceed; to walk”).

Questions about back-ganging

What does back-ganging mean?
Back-ganging means behind or late in payment or rent; in arrears.
What part of speech is back-ganging?
Back-ganging can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce back-ganging?
Back-ganging is pronounced /ˈbækˌɡæŋɪŋ/ (UK).

Words near back-ganging in the dictionary

  1. back-formed
  2. back-forming
  3. back-forms
  4. back-friend
  5. back-friends
  6. back-ganging
  7. back-hand
  8. back-handed
  9. back-handed compliment
  10. back-handed compliments
  11. back-handedly

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: back-ganging (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: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-back-ganging.wav.

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