back

/bæk/

Thân thiện

The librarian shelves the back issues of the magazine in the archive.

Definition

1. Noun:

   • The rear surface of the human body from the shoulders to the hips: The part of the body opposite the chest and stomach.
   • The side or part of something that is opposite the front or most important side: The less visible or active side.
   • A player in a team game who plays in a defensive position behind the main line of players: A defensive position in sports like football or soccer.
   • The part of a chair that supports a sitter's back: The vertical support on a chair.

2. Verb:

   • To move backwards: To cause something to move in a reverse direction.
   • To give support or help to someone or something: To provide assistance, endorsement, or financial aid.
   • To bet money on the success of something: To wager on a particular outcome.
   • To provide a musical accompaniment: To play supporting music for a singer or lead instrument.

3. Adjective:

   • Situated at or in the rear: Located behind or at the back.
   • Of a past date; not current: Relating to a previous time.
   • Directed toward the rear or in a reverse direction: Moving or facing backwards.

4. Adverb:

   • In the opposite direction from the one that one is facing or travelling: Towards the rear.
   • So as to return to an earlier or normal position or condition: Returning to a previous state.
   • At a distance away: Located far from the front or center.
   • In or into the past: Referring to a time before the present.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:

  • He has a pain in his back.
  • Please write your name on the back of the form.
  • The team's back made a crucial tackle.
  • Lean against the back of the chair.

• Verb:

  • She had to back the car out of the narrow driveway.
  • Many people back the new environmental policy.
  • I never back horses; it's too risky.
  • The singer was backed by a full orchestra.

• Adjective:

  • Use the back entrance, please.
  • We found some back issues of the magazine in the attic.
  • A back current made swimming difficult.

• Adverb:

  • He stepped back to let her pass.
  • Put the book back on the shelf when you're done.
  • The house is set back from the road.
  • Looking back, I realize I was wrong.

Advanced Usage

• "Back and forth": Moving repeatedly between two points.

  • The pendulum swung back and forth.

• "Back to back": Consecutively, one after the other.

  • They won two games back to back.

• "Back to square one": Having to start over from the beginning.

  • The plan failed, so we're back to square one.

Variants and Related Words

• Backing (n): Support, help, or endorsement.

  • The project has the full backing of the board.

• Backward (adj/adv): Directed towards the back or the past.

  • He took a backward step. (adj)
  • She glanced backward over her shoulder. (adv)

• Backless (adj): Having no back support.

  • She wore a backless dress to the party.

Synonyms

• Noun: Rear, spine, reverse, posterior, end.
• Verb: Support, endorse, finance, reverse, retreat.
• Adjective: Rear, hind, posterior, previous, old.
• Adverb: Backward, rearward, behind, ago, previously.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Back down: To withdraw a claim or position in an argument.

  • He refused to back down from his demands.

• Back off: To move away or stop being involved, often to reduce pressure.

  • Just back off and give me some space.

• Back out: To decide not to do something previously agreed.

  • They backed out of the deal at the last minute.

• Back up:

  • To move a vehicle backwards.

    • Can you back up a little so I can park?
  • To make a copy of computer data for safekeeping.

    • Remember to back up your files.
  • To support or confirm a statement.

    • Do you have any evidence to back up that claim?

Related Idioms

• Behind someone's back: Secretly, without someone's knowledge.

  • They made the decision behind my back.

• Turn your back on: To reject, abandon, or refuse to help.

  • He turned his back on his family when they needed him.

• Have your back to the wall: To be in a very difficult situation with few options.

  • With debts mounting, the company has its back to the wall.

• Pat on the back: An expression of praise or congratulations.

  • She deserves a pat on the back for all her hard work.

Học thuật

Adjective

1. of an earlier date
   • back issues of the magazine
2. located at or near the back of an animal
   • back (or hind) legs
   • the hinder part of a carcass
3. related to or located at the back
   • the back yard
   • the back entrance

Verb

1. strengthen by providing with a back or backing
2. establish as valid or genuine
   • Can you back up your claims?
3. shift to a counterclockwise direction
   • the wind backed
4. place a bet on
   • Which horse are you backing?
   • I'm betting on the new horse
5. be in back of
   • My garage backs their yard
6. support financial backing for
   • back this enterprise
7. cause to travel backward
   • back the car into the parking spot
8. give support or one's approval to
   • I'll second that motion
   • I can't back this plan
   • endorse a new project
9. travel backward
   • back into the driveway
   • The car backed up and hit the tree
10. be behind; approve of
    • He plumped for the Labor Party
    • I backed Kennedy in 1960

Noun

1. (American football) the position of a player on a football team who is stationed behind the line of scrimmage
2. a support that you can lean against while sitting
   • the back of the dental chair was adjustable
3. the part of a garment that covers the back of your body
   • they pinned a `kick me' sign on his back
4. the protective covering on the front, back, and spine of a book
   • the book had a leather binding
5. the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord
   • the fall broke his back
6. (football) a person who plays in the backfield
7. 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
8. the side that goes last or is not normally seen
   • he wrote the date on the back of the photograph
9. the posterior part of a human (or animal) body from the neck to the end of the spine
   • his back was nicely tanned

Adverb

1. 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
2. in reply
   • he wrote back three days later
3. in or to or toward a past time
   • set the clocks back an hour
   • never look back
   • lovers of the past looking fondly backward
4. in or to or toward an original condition
   • he went back to sleep
5. 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
6. in or to or toward a former location
   • she went back to her parents' house

Từ đồng nghĩa

• back
• hind
• hinder
• back up
• bet on
• gage
• stake
• game
• punt
• second
• endorse
• indorse
• plump for
• plunk for
• support
• backrest
• binding
• book binding
• cover
• spinal column
• vertebral column
• spine
• backbone
• rachis
• rear
• dorsum
• backward
• backwards
• rearward
• rearwards