# back

Pronunciation: say "BAK" /bæk/

## Adverb

1. Returning to, or once again in, an earlier place or condition.
   - Simple: To the place or state something was in before.
   - _Put the book back where you found it._
   - _We drove back in silence._
3. In or toward the past; earlier, or ago when placed after a length of time.
   - Simple: In or toward an earlier time. After a length of time, it means ago, as in 'ten years back'.
   - _The family's history goes back to the Normans._
   - _Looking back, I should have said no._
8. In return; in a reciprocal manner.
   - Simple: In return, doing the same to someone as they did to you.
   - _She smiled back at him._
   - _Write back when you can._
9. Backward; in the direction opposite to the one someone or something is facing or usually moves in.
   - Simple: Toward the back, or the opposite way from where you are facing or going.
   - _Wind the tape back a few seconds._
   - _Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw the bus pulling away from the curb._
11. So as to shrink, recede or move aside, or to cause something to do so.
   - Simple: So as to become smaller or move out of the way.
   - _In late winter, prune the roses back hard to encourage strong new growth._
   - _Peel back the foil and stir the rice halfway through baking._
13. Away from someone or something, or from the front or an edge; at a distance.
   - Simple: Away from something or someone, or away from the front, so there is space between.
   - _The police kept the crowd back._
   - _Get back, all of you!_
21. To a later point in time, as when a meeting, launch or deadline is moved.
   - Simple: To a later time than the one first planned.
   - _The launch was pushed back two weeks because of supply delays._
   - _Can we move dinner back to eight? I'm still stuck at the office._
23. Trailing the leader or a rival by a stated margin in a race, on the scoreboard, or in league standings.
   - Simple: Behind the leader or another player by a certain amount in a race, game, or list of team rankings.
   - _With a week left in the season, the Mets are four games back of first place._
   - _After the third round, she was three strokes back of the leader._
28. In a way that hinders someone or something from moving forward or making progress.
   - Simple: In a way that stops or slows someone or something from going forward.
   - _A shortage of skilled workers is holding the whole industry back._
   - _Thick mud held the convoy back on the final stretch of road._

## Noun

2. The rear of the body from the neck to the end of the spine, including the spine and its muscles.
   - Simple: The part of your body behind you, from your neck down to your bottom, including your spine.
   - _She carried the child on her back._
   - _Their backs were bent from years in the fields._
5. The surface or side of something that faces away from its front or from the side meant for use.
   - Simple: The side of a thing that is opposite its front.
   - _The price is printed on the back._
   - _The backs of the cards were blue._
10. The part or position farthest from the front, or the part that comes last.
   - Simple: The part of something that is farthest from the front, or that comes last.
   - _The kitchen is at the back of the house._
   - _Sit at the back if you need to leave early._
12. In some team sports, a position behind most of the players on the team, or the player in it.
   - Simple: In some team sports, a player who plays behind most of the team, or that position.
   - _He played at the back for ten seasons._
   - _Fast backs win rugby matches._
14. The area behind, such as the yard behind a house or the rear storeroom of a shop.
   - Simple: The area behind a building, or the storeroom at the rear of a store.
   - _The children are playing out the back._
   - _There may be more stock in the back._
16. The part of a piece of furniture that a person leans or rests against.
   - Simple: The part of a chair or seat that you lean against.
   - _Hang your coat on the back of the seat._
   - _The pews have straight backs and no cushions._
26. Large and attractive buttocks. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A large, shapely bottom.
   - _Those jeans really show off how much back she has._
   - _Gym or no gym, he liked a girl with some back._

## Adjective

4. Having come home or returned to an earlier position or state.
   - Simple: Returned to where or how something was before.
   - _Is she back from London yet?_
   - _Flared jeans are back, apparently._
6. Situated at or near the rear.
   - Simple: Placed at the rear, away from the front.
   - _The back bedroom is the quiet one._
   - _Put the tools in the back seat._
18. Not current, dating from an earlier time.
   - Simple: From an earlier time and not current.
   - _Libraries keep back numbers in the basement._
   - _A back copy costs twice the cover price._
19. Owed from an earlier time and still unpaid; in arrears.
   - Simple: Still owed for a time already past and not paid yet.
   - _Back taxes can follow you for years._
   - _She was awarded back wages by the court._
20. Off the main routes, or away from the busiest parts of a place.
   - Simple: Away from the main roads or busy places.
   - _I know a back way to the station._
   - _The back streets were empty at noon._
22. Moving or operating in a backward direction.
   - Simple: Moving or working in reverse.
   - _The pump's back stroke draws the water in._
   - _Engineers speak of back pressure in the pipe._

## Verb

7. To support a person, plan or side with money, votes or encouragement.
   - Simple: To support someone or something, for example with money or words.
   - _The plan is backed by three big investors._
   - _Nobody will back a project without a budget._
15. To move backward, or to make someone or something move backward.
   - Simple: To go backward, or to make something such as a car go backward.
   - _Slowly back out of the drive._
   - _She backed away from the edge._
17. To support a lead singer or musician by playing or singing an accompanying part.
   - Simple: To play music or sing along with a main singer or player to support their part.
   - _A string quartet will back the singer on her final song._
   - _He spent ten years backing country stars as a session drummer._
24. To stake money on a competitor, such as a horse or team, or on a certain result.
   - Simple: To bet money on a horse, team, or player, or on how a game or contest will end.
   - _She backed the long shot at twenty to one and went home with a pile of cash._
   - _Bookmakers say most gamblers back a draw in Saturday's match._
25. To make a back for something or fit it with one, as in binding books.
   - Simple: To make a back for something, or to add one to it.
   - _The carpenter backed the bookcase with a thin sheet of plywood._
   - _Framers usually back each print with stiff board before it goes behind glass._
27. To lie at the back of something and border it.
   - Simple: To be right behind something and next to it.
   - _Steep wooded hills back the little harbor town._
   - _The house is backed by a nature preserve, so nobody will ever build behind it._

## Other meanings

- (noun) Something kept available as a fallback, ready to provide support or resources when needed.
- (noun) A nonalcoholic drink, commonly water or soda, served alongside spirits or a cocktail.
- (adjective) Describing a speech sound, usually a vowel, made with the tongue's highest point near the rear of the mouth.
- (noun) The rear section of a garment, lying over the wearer's back.
- (noun) A person's body regarded as what wears garments, kept today in just one idiom, the clothes on one's back.
- (noun) The spine of a book, where its pages are sewn or glued together.
- (noun) The blank strip along the inner side of a printed page, next to where it is bound.
- (noun) The blunt edge of a knife or other blade, on the opposite side from the sharp one.
- (noun) The top surface of a natural feature, such as a ridge or wave, thought of as looking like an animal's back.
- (noun) The keel together with the keelson, the timbers running along the bottom of a ship.
- (noun) The ceiling of a level tunnel or passage in a mine.
- (noun) Hard work or exertion, especially of a physical kind.
- (noun) In the leather trade, a very thick, heavy tanned hide.
- (noun) Short for backstroke, the swimming stroke done lying face up.
- (verb) Of the wind, to shift in a counterclockwise direction, for example from south to east.
- (verb) To swing a sailing vessel's spars around until the breeze pushes against the forward face of the canvas, which checks its speed.
- (verb) To put down a second, lighter anchor in line with the main one so that it holds more firmly.
- (verb) Of a hunting dog, to freeze in place to honor a second dog that has already found and pointed at game.
- (verb) To climb onto an animal and sit on it, as when getting on a horse.
- (verb) To set someone or something on the back of a horse or other animal.
- (verb) To write something on the reverse side of a document, sometimes as a form of endorsement.
- (verb) To sign a warrant issued in a different county so that it can be used to arrest someone locally.
- (verb) To work oars in reverse so that a boat slows down or moves stern first.
- (verb) To bring out a hidden weapon such as a knife from behind one's body.
- (verb) To carry a baby on one's back, often tied on with a cloth.
- (noun) A wide, shallow tub or tank used in brewing, distilling, dyeing and similar trades for cooling, mixing or holding liquids.

## Origin

This comes from Middle English "bak" and Old English "bæc," from Proto-West Germanic "*bak" and Proto-Germanic "*baką," possibly from a Proto-Indo-European root "*bʰeg-" meaning "to bend." The adverb is a shortened form of "aback," and there are related words in Middle Low German, West Frisian, Old High German, Swedish, and Norwegian.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/back (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).