back door
16
5.9
- noun
- /bæk dɔr/
:
puerta trasera
- On a trip a few years ago, I discovered a back door and have used it whenever I travel.
And we got into it through a back door.
- And we got into it through a back door.
- OK, it wouldn't surprise me if those Chinese Transformers had a back door and it could be turned off.
- So I needed to be connected to tour the Onion router to connect to my back door.
- I know his kids and all this shit and the guy's siphoning cash out the back door.
- I just sent it through Israel through a through a back door shopping set up run by some Jewish guys.
- But under your rules of no, Under my back door rules, yeah.
- I also think that this is kind of a back door, you know, for someone who is associating some stigma with self pleasure.
- And just like that, and just like that, people are coming into the back door of our lives.
Examples
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There was also what appeared to be a secret back door.
Academic text (2005) -
If someone leaves a back door open, it's a bit daft not to try and use it.
-
It's law by the back door is what it is.
-
Then they got us out the back door of the of the airport as well.
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"The effect works like an extra tax, a sort of property tax by the back door."
Blog text (6) -
I have access to the entire Stark Global Security network, including multiple defense satellites, as well as back doors to all major telecommunication networks.
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The beast I am referring to is unwittingly opening a back door to your site to potential hackers.
Blog text (32) -
The Usurper, by finding a back door to the Oval Office, has ended consensual government in the USA.
Blog text (29) -
New Cisco "smart" routers seem to have a back door for Cisco to remotely install "upgrades."
Blog text (8) -
The company was concerned that hackers had discovered a back door into their software system.
Synonyms
12
7.0
A secret way to get into a group or position without following normal rules
4
7.7
A secret way to talk privately between governments or leaders
2
8.0
A hidden way in a computer program that lets someone get in without permission
1
7.9
Secret talks that happen outside normal channels
Antonyms
How Official
Surface Forms
Morphology
The constituent meanings 'back' (rear) + 'door' (entrance) directly suggest a rear or less-visible entrance, and this physical image readily extends to the idea of an unofficial or secret route, so learners who know the words can often infer the basic sense. However, the use as an abstract method for bypassing rules is a metaphorical extension rather than a strictly compositional meaning, so it may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner without some exposure.
Etymology
Back door for a secret entry comes from the idea of a real rear door: the words back and door make the image of a quiet, hidden way in. So a computer or system 'back door' is a 'secret way in' that avoids the normal rules.