back

1. 1.

   the posterior part of a human (or animal) body from the neck to the end of the spine

   “his back was nicely tanned”

   Synonymsdorsum

   Broaderbody part

   Part oftorso

   Partssaddlesmalllatissimus dorsithoracic vertebralumbar vertebra
2. 2.

   the side that goes last or is not normally seen

   “he wrote the date on the back of the photograph”

   Synonymsrear

   Broaderside

   Narrowersterntail
3. 3.

   the part of something that is furthest from the normal viewer

   “he stood at the back of the stage”

   “it was hidden in the rear of the store”

   Synonymsrear

   Antonymsfront

   Broaderposition
4. 4.

   (football) a person who plays in the backfield

   Broaderfootball player

   Narrowerflanker backquarterbackrunning backtailbackwingback

   football

5. 5.

   the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord

   “the fall broke his back”

   Synonymsspinal columnvertebral columnspinebackbonerachis

   Broaderskeletal structure

   Narrowernotochordchine

   Part of
6. 6.

   the protective covering on the front, back, and spine of a book

   “the book had a leather binding”

   Synonymsbindingbook bindingcover

   Broaderprotective covering

   Narrowerhalf bindingthree-quarter binding

   Part ofbook
7. 7.

   the part of a garment that covers the back of your body

   “they pinned a `kick me' sign on his back”

   Broadercloth covering
8. 8.

   a support that you can lean against while sitting

   “the back of the dental chair was adjustable”

   Synonymsbackrest

   Broadersupport

   Narrowercantleladder-back

   Part ofchaircar seat
9. 9.

   (American football) the position of a player on a football team who is stationed behind the line of scrimmage

   Broaderposition

   Narrowerlinebackerquarterbackfullbackhalfbacktailbackwingback

   Part ofbackfieldsecondary

   American football

1. 1.

   in or to or toward a former location

   “she went back to her parents' house”
2. 2.

   at or to or toward the back or rear

   “he moved back”

   “tripped when he stepped backward”

   “she looked rearward out the window of the car”

   Synonymsbackwardbackwardsrearwardrearwards
3. 3.

   in or to or toward an original condition

   “he went back to sleep”
4. 4.

   in or to or toward a past time

   “set the clocks back an hour”

   “never look back”

   “lovers of the past looking fondly backward”

   Synonymsbackward

   Antonymsahead
5. 5.

   in reply

   “he wrote back three days later”
6. 6.

   in repayment or retaliation

   “we paid back everything we had borrowed”

   “he hit me and I hit him back”

   “I was kept in after school for talking back to the teacher”

1. 1.

   related to or located at the back

   “the back yard”

   “the back entrance”

   Antonymsfront

   Similarbackmostrear
2. 2.

   located at or near the back of an animal

   “back (or hind) legs”

   “the hinder part of a carcass”

   Synonymshindhinder

   Similarposterior
3. 3.

   of an earlier date

   “back issues of the magazine”

   Similarnoncurrent

Other forms of back

plural

backs·

past tense

backed·

present participle

backing·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about back

What does back mean?

back means "be behind; approve of". That is the primary sense; the word has 28 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in back?

back has 1 syllable: back. In IPA it is /ˈbæk/.

What is another word for back?

Close synonyms include endorse, indorse, plump for, plunk for, support. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

What is the opposite of back?

The recorded antonyms are advance, front, veer, front.

Is back a common word?

back is banded "Core" — among the few thousand words that carry most english. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

What rhymes with back?

34 words rhyme with back. Rhymes are matched on the phonemes from the last stressed vowel onward, which is the definition a reader has in their head.