back
- adjective
- /bæk/
- She decided to sit in the back seat of the car for more comfort.
- back seat
- back door
- back end
So you can kick the back end down around the corner.
- So you can kick the back end down around the corner.
- It has good front, good back protection, but no lateral protection.
Examples
-
We're fairly enclosed in the back, tall brick fences.
-
And we've got a couple of really nice trees back in this section, too.
-
- It's on the back wall.
-
"We had better go in the back way."
-
Do you have a back door to your home that you rarely use?
Academic text (2009) -
I'm going to move to that back house over here.
-
The doors at the back end of the lab are kicked open.
Fiction book (1991) -
And I'm on the back balcony like where the pool is.
-
You go that way, there's a back road.
-
There's got to be a back way out of here, or something.
Fiction book (1992)
Synonyms
At the back of something, like a car or building
Near the back of a person, animal, or object
At the back of an animal, for example the back legs
Farthest toward the back of a vehicle, room, or building
Furthest to the back in a line or group
Located at or pointing toward the back of something
At the back of an animal, near the tail
Furthest toward the back
Antonyms
Idioms
- Informal
A time in the past people remember with warm feelings, often when they were young
Know a place or thing very well because you have seen it many times
- Informal
Start again from the beginning when a plan or idea fails
- Informal
To try again after a failure, especially when you feel afraid
- Informal
To start doing your normal work and activities after a break
- Informal
In a situation with very few choices where you must try hard to survive or win
A style that looks formal at the front and casual at the back
- Informal
So generous that they would give almost everything to help others
Try to make things the way they were after they changed
- Informal
To notice things happening behind you without turning around
- Archaic
A future problem someone creates for themselves that causes trouble later
Treat someone in the same bad way they treated you
Compounds
- Jargon
A player in American football who runs with the ball to gain yards for the team
A promise from a seller to give back the full price if you are not satisfied
- Specialized
The part of a program that runs on a server and stores and processes data
- Specialized
A device you wear around your back to support it and help you sit or stand straight
- Specialized
A piece of code given to another function to run later when an action finishes
- Jargon
An official in American football who stands deep behind defenders to watch the play and enforce rules
- Specialized
Sections at the end of a book that give extra information like appendices and an index
- Specialized
A strong flow of hot gas pushed back from a fired weapon that can injure people behind it
- Specialized
A direction directly opposite the one you found that you use to check your position
- Specialized
A gymnastics move where a person lies on their back, arches their back and brings their feet to their head
- UK
A less-used hallway at the back of a building that people use for private or service access
- Specialized
A martial arts position with the back leg bent and the front leg straight for balance and quick movement
- Specialized
A vowel you make with the tongue near the back of the mouth, like the 'o' in pole
Surface Forms
Etymology
Back comes from the old English word bæc meaning 'rear', which is why we say a back garden or back door to mean the part at the 'rear' of a house or building.