Word.ws English Dictionary

backing

/ˈbæk.ɪŋ(ɡ)/

backing noun: support, especially financial. Also the present participle and gerund of back.

Noun

backing (countable and uncountable, plural backings)

  1. Support, especially financial.
    • It's a volunteer organization that works with backing from the city and a few grants.
  2. A liner or other material added behind or underneath.
    • The cardboard backing gives the notebook a little extra stiffness.
    • An old print was discovered some time ago in an arch at Waterloo Dock Goods Station[,] Liverpool, in use as a backing on which to write time sheets.1957 August, “Notes and News: Tithebarn Street Station, Liverpool”, in Railway Magazine, page 589
  3. A backdrop.
    • The simplest and cheapest answer is to introduce a scenic backing of some kind, a backdrop, a drape, some flats to restrict the shot and obscure whatever is outside.2013, Gerald Millerson, TV Scenic Design, page 134
  4. Musicians and vocalists who support the main performer.
  5. The mounting of a horse or other animal.
  6. The action of putting something back; a switching into reverse.

Adjective

backing (not comparable)

  1. Providing support for the main performer.

Also used as

backing is also the present participle and gerund of back.

Examples of backing in a sentence

  • I′d recommend backing up these files to storage before reinstalling the operating system.
  • Governor Johnson received the backing of the state Grange in his bid for re-election.
  • Progressive dances typically start with the leader and the follower facing and backing line of dance, respectively.

All 40 example sentences with backing

Forms of backing

pluralbackings

Plural of backing: backings

Origin of backing

From back + -ing.

Words formed from backing

Phrases with backing

7 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with backing

Questions about backing

What does backing mean?
Backing means support, especially financial.
What part of speech is backing?
Backing can be a noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce backing?
Backing is pronounced /ˈbæk.ɪŋ(ɡ)/.
What is the plural of backing?
The plural of backing is backings.

Words near backing in the dictionary

  1. backhouse
  2. backhouses
  3. backie
  4. backies
  5. Backiling
  6. backing
  7. backing away
  8. backing band
  9. backing bands
  10. backing bean
  11. backing beans

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: backing (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-backing.ogg.

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