Meaning of 'back' (Webster Dictionary)
- Being at the back or in the rear; distant; remote; as, the
back door; back settlements.
- Being in arrear; overdue; as, back rent.
- Moving or operating backward; as, back action.
- In, to, or toward, the rear; as, to stand back; to step
back.
- To the place from which one came; to the place or person
from which something is taken or derived; as, to go back for something
left behind; to go back to one's native place; to put a book back after
reading it.
- To a former state, condition, or station; as, to go back to
private life; to go back to barbarism.
- (Of time) In times past; ago.
- Away from contact; by reverse movement.
- In concealment or reserve; in one's own possession; as, to
keep back the truth; to keep back part of the money due to another.
- In a state of restraint or hindrance.
- In return, repayment, or requital.
- In withdrawal from a statement, promise, or undertaking;
as, he took back0 the offensive words.
- In arrear; as, to be back in one's rent.
- 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.
- A ferryboat. See Bac, 1.
- In human beings, the hinder part of the body, extending from
the neck to the end of the spine; in other animals, that part of the
body which corresponds most nearly to such part of a human being; as,
the back of a horse, fish, or lobster.
- An extended upper part, as of a mountain or ridge.
- The outward or upper part of a thing, as opposed to the inner
or lower part; as, the back of the hand, the back of the foot, the back
of a hand rail.
- The part opposed to the front; the hinder or rear part of a
thing; as, the back of a book; the back of an army; the back of a
chimney.
- The part opposite to, or most remote from, that which fronts
the speaker or actor; or the part out of sight, or not generally seen;
as, the back of an island, of a hill, or of a village.
- The part of a cutting tool on the opposite side from its
edge; as, the back of a knife, or of a saw.
- A support or resource in reserve.
- The keel and keelson of a ship.
- The upper part of a lode, or the roof of a horizontal
underground passage.
- A garment for the back; hence, clothing.
- To get upon the back of; to mount.
- To place or seat upon the back.
- To drive or force backward; to cause to retreat or recede;
as, to back oxen.
- To make a back for; to furnish with a back; as, to back
books.
- To adjoin behind; to be at the back of.
- To write upon the back of; as, to back a letter; to
indorse; as, to back a note or legal document.
- To support; to maintain; to second or strengthen by aid or
influence; as, to back a friend.
- To bet on the success of; -- as, to back a race horse.
- To move or go backward; as, the horse refuses to back.
- To change from one quarter to another by a course opposite
to that of the sun; -- used of the wind.
- To stand still behind another dog which has pointed; --
said of a dog.
Meaning of 'back' (Princeton's WordNet)
Meaning (1):
- the part of something that is furthest from the normal viewer
Example in sentence:- he stood at the back of the stage;
- it was hidden in the rear of the store
Meaning (2):
- the side that goes last or is not normally seen
Example in sentence:- he wrote the date on the back of the photograph
Meaning (3):
- the posterior part of a human (or animal) body from the neck to the end of the spine
Example in sentence:- his back was nicely tanned
Meaning (4):
- a support that you can lean against while sitting
Example in sentence:- the back of the dental chair was adjustable
Meaning (5):
- the protective covering on the front, back, and spine of a book
Example in sentence:- the book had a leather binding
Meaning (6):
- the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord
Meaning (7):
- the part of a garment that covers the back of your body
Example in sentence:- they pinned a `kick me' sign on his back
Meaning (8):
- travel backward
Example in sentence:- back into the driveway;
- The car backed up and hit the tree
Meaning (9):
- cause to travel backward
Example in sentence:- back the car into the parking spot
Meaning (10):
- support financial backing for
Meaning (11):
- establish as valid or genuine
Example in sentence:- Can you back up your claims?
Meaning (12):
- give support or one's approval to
Example in sentence:- endorse a new project;
- I can't back this plan;
- I'll second that motion
Meaning (13):
- be behind; approve of
Example in sentence:- He plumped for the Labor Party;
- I backed Kennedy in 1960
Meaning (14):
- place a bet on
Example in sentence:- I'm betting on the new horse;
- Which horse are you backing?
Meaning (15):
- be in back of
Example in sentence:- My garage backs their yard
Meaning (16):
- shift to a counterclockwise direction
Meaning (17):
- related to or located at the back
Example in sentence:- the back entrance;
- the back yard
Meaning (18):
- in repayment or retaliation
Example in sentence:- he hit me and I hit him back;
- I was kept in after school for talking back to the teacher;
- we paid back everything we had borrowed
Meaning (19):
- at or to or toward the back or rear
Example in sentence:- he moved back;
- she looked rearward out the window of the car;
- tripped when he stepped backward
Meaning (20):
- in or to or toward an original condition
Meaning (21):
- in reply
Example in sentence:- he wrote back three days later
Meaning (22):
- in or to or toward a past time
Example in sentence:- lovers of the past looking fondly backward;
- never look back;
- set the clocks back an hour
Meaning (23):
- in or to or toward a former location
Example in sentence:- she went back to her parents' house
Meaning (24):
- located at or near the back of an animal
Example in sentence:- back (or hind) legs;
- the hinder part of a carcass
Meaning (25):
- of an earlier date
Example in sentence:- back issues of the magazine
Definition
[ a.]