backward
toward the back or rear.
with the back foremost.
in the reverse of the usual or right way: counting backward from 100.
toward the past: to look backward over one's earlier mistakes.
toward a less advanced state; retrogressively: Since the overthrow of the president the country has moved steadily backward.
directed toward the back or past.
reversed; returning: a backward movement;a backward journey.
behind in time or progress; late; slow: a backward learner;a backward country.
bashful or hesitant; shy: a backward lover.
Idioms about backward
backward and forward, thoroughly: He knew his lesson backward and forward.: Also backwards and forwards.
Origin of backward
1Other words for backward
Opposites for backward
Other words from backward
- back·ward·ly, adverb
- back·ward·ness, noun
- un·back·ward, adjective
Words Nearby backward
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use backward in a sentence
His speeches, which he wrote himself, were frequently brilliant, even if they too often pointed backward instead of forward.
The camera dollied backward along the length of the tower's staircase while simultaneously its lens zoomed forward.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days | David Freeman | December 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTNow Benny lifted his head up, slapped his knee, and laughed so hard that he almost tumbled over backward.
Why Comedians Still Think Bill Cosby Is a Genius | Mark Whitaker | October 5, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTReputation, or how we seem, seems to be much more important these days than who we are—which is obviously backward.
Andrew Garfield on the Evils of Capitalism, the Hacking Scandal, and Criticism of ‘Spider-Man 2’ | Marlow Stern | September 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTYour fiction is preoccupied with the past—even the contemporary stories have an aura of looking backward.
Sol got up, slowly; took a backward step into the yard; filled his lungs, opened his mouth, made his eyes round.
The Bondboy | George W. (George Washington) OgdenThen a shower of dirt flew into their faces and both Jolly Robin and his wife tumbled over backward.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole | Arthur Scott BaileyA like indifference to the position of a picture, and of a letter, has been observed among backward races.
Children's Ways | James SullyBut they went slowly, with much half-whispered, sullen conferring and many a backward glance at Marius and those with him.
St. Martin's Summer | Rafael SabatiniMore than nine-tenths of these were made in Birmingham, and, of course, our tradesmen were not backward with their own specimens.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham | Thomas T. Harman and Walter Showell
British Dictionary definitions for backward
/ (ˈbækwəd) /
(usually prenominal) directed towards the rear: a backward glance
retarded in physical, material, or intellectual development: backward countries; a backward child
of or relating to the past; conservative or reactionary
(in combination): backward-looking
reluctant or bashful: a backward lover
chess (of a pawn) behind neighbouring pawns and unable to be supported by them
a variant of backwards
Derived forms of backward
- backwardly, adverb
- backwardness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with backward
In addition to the idiom beginning with backward
- backward and forward
also see:
- bend over backward
- fall over (backwards)
- know like a book (backwards and forwards)
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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