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say it: BAK-uhp
backup is a noun meaning "an accumulation caused by clogging or a stoppage". It carries 5 recorded senses.
an accumulation caused by clogging or a stoppage
“a traffic backup on the main street”
“he discovered a backup in the toilet”
someone who takes the place of another (as when things get dangerous or difficult)
“the star had a stand-in for dangerous scenes”
“we need extra employees for summer fill-ins”
a musical part (vocal or instrumental) that supports or provides background for other musical parts
(computer science) a copy of a file or directory on a separate storage device
“he made a backup in case the original was accidentally damaged or erased”
computer science
the act of providing approval and support
“his vigorous backing of the conservatives got him in trouble with progressives”
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.
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for backup come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.