back
- adjective
- /bæk/
- The magazine features many interesting articles in its back issues.
Examples
-
For the first time in a decade, "democratization" took a back seat to other themes.
Academic text (1997) -
Coffee Talking took a back seat during the crazy year 2011 turned out to be.
Blog text (34) -
Being new to the town, I had been so busy working that making friends took a back seat.
Fiction book (2000) -
That's why he takes more of a back seat now.
-
Will the time ever come when one's religious affiliations take a back seat in the political theater?
Blog text (18) -
Projecting the image of leadership in the Arab world took a back seat under al-Sadat.
Academic text (2007) -
She often rereads stories from back editions of her favorite publications.
-
We found some back issues of the journal that covered last year's events.
Synonyms
Relating to older books a publisher still sells
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
How Recent
Surface Forms
Etymology
Back comes from the old English word bæc meaning 'rear' or 'behind', so a back copy or back issue is one from an earlier time, 'behind' the current date.