backlist
backlist noun: a list of older books available from a publisher, as opposed to the frontlist of more recent titles.
Noun
backlist (plural backlists)
- A list of older books available from a publisher, as opposed to the frontlist of more recent titles.
- Synonyms:
- back catalog, back catalogue
- Antonyms:
- frontlist
- Expected to achieve years of adequate sales while on a backlist, and to be profitable on that basis, even if predicted not to sell in huge numbers when new.
- The celebrity tell-all has been proposed as a frontlist title, whereas the cookbook has been proposed as a backlist title and the food history book as a midlist title.
- Antonyms:
- frontlist
Verb
backlist (third-person singular simple present backlists, present participle backlisting, simple past and past participle backlisted)
- To hold back a student's application (to a college etc.) based on whether a preferred candidate declines their offer.
- I have not heard back from the college yet: I must have been backlisted.
- To place (a book) on a backlist.
Synonyms of backlist
Antonyms
Forms of backlist
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | backlists |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | backlists |
| present participle | backlisting |
| past participle | backlisted |
| past | backlisted |
Origin of backlist
From back + list.
Questions about backlist
- What does backlist mean?
- Backlist means a list of older books available from a publisher, as opposed to the frontlist of more recent titles.
- What part of speech is backlist?
- Backlist can be a noun or a verb.
- What is the plural of backlist?
- The plural of backlist is backlists.
Words near backlist in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: backlist (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:
Cite this entry: “backlist.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/backlist. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.