backbiter
/ˈbæk.baɪt.ə(ɹ)//ˈbæk.baɪt.ɚ/
backbiter noun: a person who says nasty things about another person behind the second person's back: that is, out of their sight and hearing.
Noun
backbiter (plural backbiters)
- A person who says nasty things about another person behind the second person's back: that is, out of their sight and hearing.
- […] here were no Gibers, Cenſurers, Backbiters, Pick-pockets, Highwaymen, Houſebreakers, Attorneys, Bawds, Buffoons, Gameſters, Politicians, Wits, ſplenetick tedious Talkers, Controvertiſts, Raviſhers, Murderers, Robbers, Virtuoſo's; […]1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Author’s Oeconomy and Happy Life among the Houyhnhnms. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume II, London...
- She better not hear none of them old backbiters talking about her husband!1937, Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Virago Press (2018), page 143
backbiter meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Telugu
backbiter in Tamil
- backbiter, calumniator
- குண்டன் kuṇṭaṉ
backbiter in Urdu
- backbiter
- چغل خور cuġal-xor
backbiter in Bengali
- backbiter
- চোগলখোর cōglokhōr
backbiter in Telugu
- a backbiter, incendiary
- అంగుడుతుడిపి aṅguḍutuḍipi
Forms of backbiter
| plural | backbiters |
|---|
Origin of backbiter
From Middle English bakbitere, bakbytere, bacbitere, equivalent to backbite + -er.
Questions about backbiter
- What does backbiter mean?
- Backbiter means a person who says nasty things about another person behind the second person's back: that is, out of their sight and hearing.
- What is backbiter in Tamil?
- Backbiter in Tamil is குண்டன் (kuṇṭaṉ). See Backbiter meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is backbiter?
- Backbiter is a noun.
- How do you pronounce backbiter?
- Backbiter is pronounced /ˈbæk.baɪt.ə(ɹ)/.
- What is the plural of backbiter?
- The plural of backbiter is backbiters.
Words near backbiter in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: backbiter (page history and authors); குண்டன் (Tamil) (page history and authors); چغل خور (Urdu) (page history and authors); চোগলখোর (Bengali) (page history and authors); అంగుడుతుడిపి (Telugu) (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.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Qwertygiy-backbiter.wav.
Cite this entry: “backbiter.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/backbiter. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.