Backgammon

//ˈbæk.ɡæm.ən// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A board game for two players in which each has 15 stones which move between 24 triangular points according to the roll of a pair of dice; the object is to move all of one's pieces around, and bear them off the board. countable, uncountable

    ""I have borrowed Mrs. Palmer's backgammon-board," said Isabella, whose notion of an elderly gentleman's amusements of an evening was derived from what she had seen Mr. Palmer do."

  2. 2
    a board game for two players; pieces move according to throws of the dice wordnet
  3. 3
    A victory in the game when the loser has not borne off a stone, and still has one or more stones in the winner's inner home row or on the bar. countable, uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    To win at a backgammon game with the opponent having one or more pieces in the winner’s inner home row or on the bar.

Synonyms

All synonyms
bingocheckerschessgamesport

Example

More examples

"Tom doesn't usually play backgammon."

Etymology

Probably from back + Middle English gamen, from Old English gamen (“amusement, game”).

Related phrases

Dutch backgammonRussian backgammonboard gametick tacktric trac

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.