Word.ws English Dictionary

backstays

backstays is the plural of backstay.

Meaning of backstay

Noun

backstay (plural backstays)

  1. A part of the rigging of a sailing ship extending from the top of the mast (masthead) to the back of the ship; they support the strain on all upper masts and provide additional support to the shrouds when the wind is abaft the beam.
  2. A strengthening or supporting piece that is built into the back of something.

Questions about backstays

What is backstays the plural of?
Backstays is the plural of backstay.

Words near backstays in the dictionary

  1. backstamped
  2. backstamping
  3. backstamps
  4. backstaves
  5. backstay
  6. backstays
  7. Backstein
  8. backstep
  9. backstepped
  10. backstepping
  11. backsteps

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: backstays (page history and authors); backstay (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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Cite this entry: “backstays.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/backstays. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.