Word.ws English Dictionary

mossback

Syllables: moss·back/ˈmɒsbæk/US/ˈmɔsˌbæk/

mossback noun: synonym of mossyback (“a person with old-fashioned views; hence, one who is very conservative or reactionary”).

Noun

mossback (plural mossbacks)

  1. (US, informal) Synonym of mossyback (“a person with old-fashioned views; hence, one who is very conservative or reactionary”).
  2. (US, historical, informal) A person who stayed hidden to evade conscription (especially by the Confederate States Army) during the American Civil War (1861–1865); a mossyback.
  3. (US) A turtle that, because of its age, has a growth of algae on its back
  4. (US) A common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina).
  5. (US) Synonym of mossyback (“a fish that is large and old, especially one that has algae growing on its back”).
    Synonyms:
    mossyback
  6. (US) A largemouth bass or moss bass (Micropterus salmoides).

mossback meaning in Urdu

mossback in Urdu

قدامت پسند

Synonyms of mossback

All synonyms of mossback

Forms of mossback

pluralmossbacks

Origin of mossback

From moss + back (in senses 1 (“person with old-fashioned views; one who is very conservative or reactionary”) and 2.3 (“fish that is large and old”) probably a variant of mossyback, which is attested earlier), alluding to someone or something that is so old or has remained so unmoving that it is as if moss has grown on them or it. Sense 2.4 (“largemouth bass”) may refer to the back of the fish being a dark green colour.

Words formed from mossback

Questions about mossback

What does mossback mean?
Mossback means synonym of mossyback (“a person with old-fashioned views; hence, one who is very conservative or reactionary”).
What is mossback in Urdu?
Mossback in Urdu is قدامت پسند. See Mossback meaning in Urdu.
What part of speech is mossback?
Mossback is a noun.
How do you pronounce mossback?
Mossback is pronounced /ˈmɒsbæk/ (UK).
What is the plural of mossback?
The plural of mossback is mossbacks.

Words near mossback in the dictionary

  1. Mossadist
  2. Mossadists
  3. Mossadnik
  4. Mossadnikim
  5. Mossadniks
  6. mossback
  7. mossbacked
  8. mossbacks
  9. mossbanker
  10. mossbankers
  11. Mossbay

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: mossback (page history and authors); mossback (Urdu Wiktionary) (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: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-mossback.wav.

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