Backstreet

adj, noun

adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Alternative spelling of back street. alt-of, alternative
Adjective
  1. 1
    Associated with neighborhoods on back streets, often in older neighborhoods, with poorer residents.

    "The agency was given to some deserving politician who, as he knew nothing at all about Indians and spoke no language except traces of back-street American, would not be prejudiced in Indian affairs and interfere with the highly informed traders."

  2. 2
    Done in poor and unsanitary conditions, secretly and illegally; back-alley. figuratively

    "The results of self-induced and backstreet abortions come to our hospitals for the damage to be put right."

Example

More examples

"The refugees were living in a narrow, squalid backstreet."

Etymology

From back + street.

Related phrases

back street

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