Back

/bæk/ adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang

adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: The rear of the body, especially the part between the neck and the end of the spine and opposite the chest and belly.
  • Grammar: back is listed as adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: dorsum, rear, reverse, a priori.
  • Useful contrasts: current, front, main.
  • Usage evidence: I'll call them tomorrow when I come back.

How to use "back"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "back" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "back" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "back" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "back" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "back" is acting as adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "dorsum" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "back", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The rear of the body, especially the part between the neck and the end of the spine and opposite the chest and belly.

    "Could you please scratch my back?"

  2. 2
    A large shallow vat; a cistern, tub, or trough, used by brewers, distillers, dyers, picklers, gluemakers, and others, for mixing or cooling wort, holding water, hot glue, etc.
  3. 3
    (American football) the position of a player on a football team who is stationed behind the line of scrimmage wordnet
  4. 4
    The rear of the body, especially the part between the neck and the end of the spine and opposite the chest and belly.; The spine and associated tissues.

    "I hurt my back lifting those crates."

  5. 5
    A ferryboat.
Show 29 more definitions
  1. 6
    a support that you can lean against while sitting wordnet
  2. 7
    The rear of the body, especially the part between the neck and the end of the spine and opposite the chest and belly.; Large and attractive buttocks. slang, uncountable

    "Take the average black man and ask him that. She gotta pack much back."

  3. 8
    the part of a garment that covers the back of your body wordnet
  4. 9
    The rear of the body, especially the part between the neck and the end of the spine and opposite the chest and belly.; The part of a piece of clothing which covers the back. figuratively

    "I still need to finish the back of your dress."

  5. 10
    the protective covering on the front, back, and spine of a book wordnet
  6. 11
    The rear of the body, especially the part between the neck and the end of the spine and opposite the chest and belly.; The backrest, the part of a piece of furniture which receives the human back.

    "Can you fix the back of this chair?"

  7. 12
    the side that goes last or is not normally seen wordnet
  8. 13
    The rear of the body, especially the part between the neck and the end of the spine and opposite the chest and belly.; That part of the body that bears clothing. (Now used only in the phrase clothes on one's back.) obsolete

    "Do thou but think / What ’tis to cram a maw or clothe a back / From such a filthy vice"

  9. 14
    the posterior part of a human (or animal) body from the neck to the end of the spine wordnet
  10. 15
    That which is farthest away from the front.

    "He sat in the back of the room."

  11. 16
    the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord wordnet
  12. 17
    That which is farthest away from the front.; The side of any object which is opposite the front or useful side.

    "Turn the book over and look at the back."

  13. 18
    the part of something that is furthest from the normal viewer wordnet
  14. 19
    That which is farthest away from the front.; The side of any object which is opposite the front or useful side.; The edge of a book which is bound.

    "The titles are printed on the backs of the books."

  15. 20
    (football) a person who plays in the backfield wordnet
  16. 21
    That which is farthest away from the front.; The side of any object which is opposite the front or useful side.; The inside margin of a page.

    "Convenience and custom have familiarised us to the printed page being a little higher than the middle of the leaf, and to its having a little more margin at the fore edge than in the back."

  17. 22
    That which is farthest away from the front.; The side of any object which is opposite the front or useful side.; The side of a blade opposite the side used for cutting.

    "Tap it with the back of your knife."

  18. 23
    That which is farthest away from the front.; The reverse side; the side that is not normally seen.

    "I hung the clothes on the back of the door."

  19. 24
    That which is farthest away from the front.; Area behind, such as the backyard of a house or the rear storeroom of a retail store.

    "We’ll meet out in the back of the library."

  20. 25
    That which is farthest away from the front.; The part of something that goes last.

    "The car was near the back of the train."

  21. 26
    That which is farthest away from the front.; In some team sports, a position behind most players on the team.

    "The backs were lined up in an I formation."

  22. 27
    The upper part of a natural object which is considered to resemble an animal’s back. figuratively

    "The small boat raced over the backs of the waves."

  23. 28
    A support or resource in reserve.

    "This project / Should have a back or second, that might hold, / If this should blast in proof."

  24. 29
    The keel and keelson of a ship.

    "The ship’s back broke in the pounding surf."

  25. 30
    The roof of a horizontal underground passage.

    "The stope is kept full of broken ore, sufficient only being drawn to leave a working space between the floor of broken ore and the back of the stope."

  26. 31
    Effort, usually physical. slang, uncountable

    "Put some back into it!"

  27. 32
    A non-alcoholic drink (often water or a soft drink), to go with hard liquor or a cocktail.

    "Could I get a martini with a water back?"

  28. 33
    Among leather dealers, one of the thickest and stoutest tanned hides.

    "[…]as delivered by a tanner the average weight of a back and two strips would be about 42 pounds[…]."

  29. 34
    Clipping of backstroke. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping
Verb
  1. 1
    To go in the reverse direction. intransitive

    "The train backed into the station."

  2. 2
    strengthen by providing with a back or backing wordnet
  3. 3
    To support. transitive

    "I back you all the way."

  4. 4
    establish as valid or genuine wordnet
  5. 5
    To change direction contrary to the normal pattern; that is, to shift anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere, or clockwise in the southern hemisphere.
Show 21 more definitions
  1. 6
    shift to a counterclockwise direction wordnet
  2. 7
    To brace the yards so that the wind presses on the front of the sail, to slow the ship.
  3. 8
    place a bet on wordnet
  4. 9
    To lay out a second, smaller anchor to provide additional holding power.
  5. 10
    travel backward wordnet
  6. 11
    To stand still behind another dog which has pointed. UK
  7. 12
    cause to travel backward wordnet
  8. 13
    To push or force backwards. transitive

    "to back oxen"

  9. 14
    support financial backing for wordnet
  10. 15
    To get upon the back of; to mount. obsolete, transitive

    "I will back him [a horse] straight."

  11. 16
    be behind; approve of wordnet
  12. 17
    To place or seat upon the back. obsolete, transitive

    "Great Jupiter, upon his eagle backed, / Appeared to me."

  13. 18
    give support or one's approval to wordnet
  14. 19
    To make a back for; to furnish with a back.

    "to back books"

  15. 20
    be in back of wordnet
  16. 21
    To adjoin behind; to be at the back of.

    "He hath a garden circummured with brick, Whose western side is with a vineyard backed"

  17. 22
    To write upon the back of, possibly as an endorsement.

    "to back a letter;  to back a note or legal document"

  18. 23
    To sign or endorse (a warrant, issued in another county, to apprehend an offender).
  19. 24
    To row backward with (oars).

    "to back the oars"

  20. 25
    To draw from behind the back (a knife etc.) (as also back out). Multicultural-London-English, transitive

    "Sticks and Stones may break my bones Not when I back this botty"

  21. 26
    To carry an infant on one’s back. Nigeria, transitive
Adjective
  1. 1
    At or near the rear. not-comparable, usually

    "Go in the back door of the house."

  2. 2
    Returned or restored to a previous place or condition. not-comparable, predicative, usually

    "He was on vacation, but now he’s back."

  3. 3
    Not current. not-comparable, usually

    "I’d like to find a back issue of that magazine."

  4. 4
    Situated away from the main or most frequented areas. not-comparable, usually

    "They took a back road."

  5. 5
    In arrears; overdue. not-comparable, usually

    "They still owe three months’ back rent."

Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    Moving or operating backward. not-comparable, usually

    "back action"

  2. 7
    Pronounced with the highest part of the body of the tongue toward the back of the mouth, near the soft palate (most often describing a vowel). comparable, not-comparable, usually

    "The vowel of lot has a back vowel in most dialects of England."

Adjective
  1. 1
    located at or near the back of an animal wordnet
  2. 2
    related to or located at the back wordnet
  3. 3
    of an earlier date wordnet
Adverb
  1. 1
    To or in a previous condition or place. not-comparable

    "He gave back the money."

  2. 2
    In a direction opposite to that in which someone or something is facing or normally pointing.

    "Someone pushed me in the chest and I fell back."

  3. 3
    In a direction opposite to the usual or desired direction of movement or progress, physically or figuratively.

    "Wind the film back a few frames."

  4. 4
    Towards, into or in the past.

    "These records go back years."

  5. 5
    Away from someone or something; at a distance.

    "Keep back! It could explode at any moment!"

Show 6 more definitions
  1. 6
    Away from the front or from an edge.

    "Sit all the way back in your chair."

  2. 7
    So as to shrink, recede or move aside, or cause to do so.

    "This tree is dying back."

  3. 8
    In a manner that impedes.

    "Fear held him back."

  4. 9
    In a reciprocal manner; in return. not-comparable

    "If you hurt me, I’ll hurt you back."

  5. 10
    Earlier, ago. postpositional

    "We met many years back."

  6. 11
    To a later point in time. See also put back.

    "The meeting has been moved back an hour. It was at 3 o’clock; now it's at 4 o’clock."

Adverb
  1. 1
    in or to or toward a past time wordnet
  2. 2
    at or to or toward the back or rear wordnet
  3. 3
    in repayment or retaliation wordnet
  4. 4
    in or to or toward a former location wordnet
  5. 5
    in or to or toward an original condition wordnet
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    in reply wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.
  2. 2
    A settlement on the Isle of Lewis, Western Isles council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NB4840).

Synonyms

All synonyms
dorsumrearreversea prioria reboursa reculons

Example

"I'll call them tomorrow when I come back."

Common questions

What does "back" mean?

The rear of the body, especially the part between the neck and the end of the spine and opposite the chest and belly.

What is a synonym for "back"?

Common synonyms include: dorsum, rear, reverse, a priori, a rebours, a reculons.

How do you use "back" in a sentence?

I'll call them tomorrow when I come back.

How do you pronounce "back"?

Pronounced /bæk/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English bak, from Old English bæc, from Proto-West Germanic *bak, from Proto-Germanic *baką, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- (“to bend”). The adverb represents an aphetic form of aback. Compare Middle Low German bak (“back”), from Old Saxon bak, and West Frisian bekling (“chair back”), Old High German bah, Swedish and Norwegian bak. Cognate with German Bache (“sow [adult female hog]”).

Etymology 2

Borrowed from French bac.

More for "back"

Synonyms

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