backup
/ˈbækˌʌp/
backup noun: a reserve or substitute. Also the alternative form of back up.
Noun
backup (countable and uncountable, plural backups)
- A reserve or substitute.
- If the goalkeeper is injured, we have a backup.
- Synonyms:
- stand-in, substitute
- A copy of a file or record, stored separately from the original, that can be used to recover the original if it is damaged or destroyed.
- After the power failure, we had to restore the database from backup.
- An accumulation of material caused by a (partial) obstruction or (complete) blockage of the flow or movement of the material, or an accumulation of material that causes an overflow due to the flow being greater than the maximum possible flow.
- The accident caused a mile-long backup on the highway.
- The blockage caused a backup in the plumbing.
- Reinforcements.
- He's got a gun! You'd better send for backup.
- Any support or extra help.
- Shaman: My patience is tested, but Uvenk invokes correctly. Grunt, who is your krantt? Your allies willing to kill and die on your behalf?
Shepard: How is a candidate tested if he brings backup on his Rite of Passage?
Shaman: Not every krogan can be the strongest warrior, but each must inspire his...2010, BioWare, Mass Effect 2 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Tuchanka - This guy, he grabs the dog by the ears, stares it down like a cowboy in a showdown. The man regains control again. He scans the area, hoping for backup. Nothing. No neighbours, no dog whisperers, no animal control.2025, Man Attacked by Vicious Pit Bull After Gate Left Open!
- Shaman: My patience is tested, but Uvenk invokes correctly. Grunt, who is your krantt? Your allies willing to kill and die on your behalf?
- Accompaniment.
- Debbie Ahn, on piano, provided some mesmerizing back-up and many fiery, on-target solos.1984 April 21, Pam Gordon, “'There's Always Cost': Ferron's Boston Concert”, in Gay Community News, page 17
- Corroboration.
- Pg. 206 on Yudit's comments on the feminists of Tel Aviv, "... and now they are translating Our Bodies Ourselves into Hebrew, leaving out the section on gays" was misinformed, a statement made without authoratative ^([sic]) backup in 1979 about a book first published in 1982.1982 December 4, Ilana Weinstock, “Letters From My Aunt”, in Gay Community News, volume 10, number 20, page 4
Adjective
backup (not comparable)
- Standby, reserve or extra.
- I am only a backup player.
- That is intended as a backup.
- Make a backup copy of that file.
- Supporting, reinforcing; (music) of or related to accompaniment
- Synonyms:
- backing
Also used as
backup is also the alternative form of back up.
backup meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Bengali
backup in Hindi
- बैकअप, बैकअप लेना
backup in Tamil
- காப்புப்பிரதி, காப்புப் பிரதி, காப்புப்பிரதி எடுக்க
backup in Marathi
- copy of file or record
- बॅकअप bĕkap
backup in Bengali
- ব্যাকআপ, ব্যাকআপিং, ব্যাকআপ করা
More languagesFewer languages
- backup in Telugu
- బ్యాకప్, బ్యాక్అప్
- backup in Malayalam
- ബാക്കപ്പ്
- backup in Kannada
- ಬ್ಯಾಕ್ಅಪ್, ಬ್ಯಾಕಪ್, ಬ್ಯಾಕ್ಅಪ್ಗೆ
- backup in Punjabi
- ਬੈਕਅੱਪ, ਬੈਕਅੱਪ ਕਰੋ, ਬੈਕਅੱਪ ਕਰਨਾ
- backup in Gujarati
- બેકઅપ, બૅકઅપ, બેકઅપ લેવા
- backup in Odia
- ବ୍ଯ଼ାକଅପ୍, ବ୍ଯ଼ାକ୍ଅପ୍, ବ୍ଯ଼ାକଅପ୍ କରନ୍ତୁ
- backup in Nepali
- ब्याकअप, ब्याकअप गर्ने, ब्याकअपिङ
- backup in Malay
- salinan sandaran, salinan keselamatan, penyandaran
- backup in Indonesian
- cadangan, pencadangan
- backup in Persian
- جاگزین, جایگزین, پشتیبان poštibân
Examples of backup in a sentence
- This computer file is incorrect. Can we pull the old version from your backups?
- For new players, I recommend maining the dagger and using the axe as a backup weapon.
- I saved disk space by taking differential backups, which only stored the data that had changed.
Synonyms of backup
Forms of backup
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | backups |
| alternative form | back-up |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | backups |
| present participle | backupping |
| past participle | backupped |
| past | backupped |
Origin of backup
Deverbal from back up.
Words formed from backup
Phrases with backup
Questions about backup
- What does backup mean?
- Backup means a reserve or substitute.
- What is backup in Hindi?
- Backup in Hindi is बैकअप, बैकअप लेना. See Backup meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is backup?
- Backup can be a noun or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce backup?
- Backup is pronounced /ˈbækˌʌp/.
- What is the plural of backup?
- The plural of backup is backups.
Words near backup in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: backup (page history and authors); backup (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); backup (Tamil, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); backup (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); backup (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); backup (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); backup (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); backup (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); backup (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); backup (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); backup (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). 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-backup.wav.
Cite this entry: “backup.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/backup. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.