Backstab

//ˈbækˌstæb// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An act of backstabbing.

    "After this conversation I was shocked; he asked me to leave the car so he would stay with her alone. Everything fell on me, I felt my body heavy and my heart beating very fast. It was such a backstab that it still hurts today."

Verb
  1. 1
    To attack someone (especially verbally) unfairly in a deceitful, underhand, or treacherous manner, especially when they're not present in the place or situation that it happens. transitive

Example

More examples

"After this conversation I was shocked; he asked me to leave the car so he would stay with her alone. Everything fell on me, I felt my body heavy and my heart beating very fast. It was such a backstab that it still hurts today."

Etymology

From back + stab.

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