Word.ws English Dictionary

whiteback

whiteback noun: a wild duck, the canvasback (Aythya valisineria).

Noun (1)

whiteback (countable and uncountable, plural whitebacks)

  1. A wild duck, the canvasback (Aythya valisineria)
    • […], slopehead,. whiteback, thunder duck, and gourmet's delight have been used to characterize the canvasback which has been described as the gold standard by which other species are compared .1978, North Dakota Outdoors - Volumes 41-42, page 7
  2. The white-backed duck. (Thalassornis leuconotus)
    • The creation of managed habitats shows that most duck species will take to them, the main exceptions being the Pygmy Goose and the Whiteback Duck.1972, Bulletin - International Waterfowl Research Bureau, page 68
  3. The white-backed griffon vulture (Gyps africanus)
    • One snake-necked Whiteback teeters on the head then, steady, dips into the socket.1999, Alice Friman, Zoo, page 6
    • The whiteback is a close relative of a vulture you may have seen in Africa.2012, Richard Ives, Of Tigers and Men
  4. A Lithuanian breed of cattle, (Lietuvos baltnugariai galvijai)
    • In the early 20th centruy the number of white-backs was fairly large, though not recognized as a bree, these Baltic landrace cattle accounted for about 10% of the national herd.2024, Marleen Felius, Cattle Breeds of the World, page 122
  5. A type of paperboard used in packaging that has a smooth white surface on one side and a brown or unbleached surface on the other side.
    • Overall, the downgrading has favored FBB and, in particular, whiteback folding boxboard, which can offer a very good whiteness and therefore good print qualities compared with SBB .1997, PIMA's, page 21
    • It will give Amcor Cartonboard the ability to produce superior quality whiteback board to that currently made at Petrie, opening up new market opportunities for the company.2003, Appita Journal, page 9
  6. (attributive, uncountable) A type of denim that is indigo on one side, and pale on the back.
    • The whiteback navy jeans were selected most often;1961, Research Bulletin - Issues 871-880, page 23
    • Of heavy-weight, 111/4-oz. whiteback denim, with the fabric strengthened with 25 percent DuPont 420 nylon, the jeans will not wear or wash white, the company said.1962, The Boys' Outfitter - Volume 77, page 103

Noun (2)

whiteback (countable and uncountable, plural whitebacks)

  1. (humorous) A white immigrant, especially one moving to or from the United States.
    • With only a head full of figures and a pocket full of indigestion tablets, a "whiteback" CPA emerges from the Rio Grande hoping for a better life in Mexico.1979, Tony Hendra, Christopher Cerf, Peter Elbling ·, The 80s: A Look Back at the Tumultuous Decade, 1980-1989, page 159
    • The " whiteback" joke is from Charlie Hill's appearance on The Tonight Show and is republished in Kenneth Lincoln's book Indian Humor as follows: " the first English immigrants were illegal aliens —' Whitebacks, we call 'em.'1997, American Indian Culture and Research Journal, page 23

Examples of whiteback in a sentence

  • The grass rippled and whispered, a mystery on this windless day, and an uneasieness settled over me as the whitebacks rose clumsily into the air, abandoning their carrion.2013, George Makana Clark, The Raw Man, page 168:
  • It produces grayback and whiteback coated duplex of 250-400 gsm.2008, Paper Technology, page 54:
  • Vat-dyed whiteback denim stays colorfast .1971, Montgomery Ward Catalog, page 479:
  • Therefore, their first instinct is to welcome the "whitebacks” from south of the border.2011, Philip J. Romero, Your Macroeconomic Edge, page 69:

Forms of whiteback

pluralwhitebacks

Origin of whiteback

From white + back.

Blend of white + wetback.

Questions about whiteback

What does whiteback mean?
Whiteback means a wild duck, the canvasback (Aythya valisineria).
How do you use whiteback in a sentence?
The grass rippled and whispered, a mystery on this windless day, and an uneasieness settled over me as the whitebacks rose clumsily into the air, abandoning their carrion.
What part of speech is whiteback?
Whiteback is a noun.
What is the plural of whiteback?
The plural of whiteback is whitebacks.

Words near whiteback in the dictionary

  1. Whiteakers
  2. Whitean
  3. whiteanity
  4. whiteass
  5. whiteasses
  6. whiteback
  7. whitebacks
  8. whitebagging
  9. whitebait
  10. whitebaited
  11. whitebaiter

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: whiteback (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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