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back and fill

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back

1  [bak]
–noun
1. the rear part of the human body, extending from the neck to the lower end of the spine.
2. the part of the body of animals corresponding to the human back.
3. the rear portion of any part of the body: the back of the head.
4. the whole body, with reference to clothing: the clothes on his back.
5. ability for labor; effort; endurance: He put his back into the task.
6. the part opposite to or farthest from the front; the rear part: the back of a hall.
7. the part that forms the rear of any object or structure: the back of a chair.
8. the part that covers the back: the back of a jacket.
9. the spine or backbone: The fall broke his back.
10. any rear part of an object serving to support, protect, etc.: the back of a binder.
11. Nautical, Aeronautics. the forward side of a propeller blade (opposed to face ).
12. Aeronautics. the top part or upper surface of an aircraft, esp. of its fuselage.
13. Bookbinding. the edge of a book formed where its sections are bound together.
14. the backs, grounds along the River Cam in back of certain colleges at Cambridge University in England: noted for their great beauty.
15. Architecture. extrados.
16. Carpentry.
a. the upper side of a joist, rafter, handrail, etc.
b. the area of interior wall between a window stool and the floor.
17. Mining. the roof of a stope or drift.
18. Sports.
a. a player whose regular position is behind that of players who make initial contact with the opposing team, as behind the forward line in football or nearest the player's own goal in polo.
b. the position occupied by this player.
–verb (used with object)
19. to support, as with authority, influence, help, or money (often fol. by up): to back a candidate; to back up a theory with facts.
20. to bet on: to back a horse in the race.
21. to cause to move backward (often fol. by up): to back a car.
22. to furnish with a back: to back a book.
23. to lie at the back of; form a back or background for: a beach backed by hills.
24. to provide with an accompaniment: a singer backed by piano and bass.
25. to get upon the back of; mount.
26. to write or print on the back of; endorse; countersign.
27. Carpentry. to attach strips of wood to the upper edge of (a joist or rafter) to bring it to a desired level.
28. Nautical.
a. to alter the position of (a sail) so that the wind will strike the forward face.
b. to brace (yards) in backing a sail.
c. to reinforce the hold of (an anchor) by means of a smaller one attached to it and dropped farther away.
–verb (used without object)
29. to go or move backward (often fol. by up).
30. Nautical. (of wind) to change direction counterclockwise (opposed to veer ).
–adjective
31. situated at or in the rear: at the back door; back fence.
32. far away or removed from the front or main area, position, or rank; remote: back settlements.
33. belonging to the past: back files; back issues.
34. in arrears; overdue: back pay.
35. coming or going back; moving backward: back current.
36. Navigation. reciprocal (def. 7).
37. Phonetics. (of a speech sound) produced with the tongue articulating in the back part of the mouth, as in either of the sounds of go.
—Verb phrases
38. back away, to retreat; withdraw: They gradually began to back away from their earlier opinion.
39. back down, to abandon an argument, opinion, or claim; withdraw; retreat: He backed down as soon as a member of the audience challenged his assertion.
40. back off,
a. to back down: Now that the time for action had arrived, it was too late to back off.
b. Textiles. to reverse (the spindle) in mule spinning prior to winding on the newly spun length of yarn.
41. back out or out of, to fail to keep an engagement or promise; withdraw from; abandon: Two entrants have backed out of competing in the marathon. You can't back out now.
42. back up,
a. to bring (a stream of traffic) to a standstill: A stalled car backed up traffic for miles.
b. Printing. to print a sheet again on its other side.
c. Printing. to fill in (the thin copper shell of an electrotype) with metal in order to strengthen it.
d. to move backward: Back up into the garage.
e. to reinforce: We backed up the cardboard with slats so it wouldn't fall down.
f. to support or confirm: He backed up my story and they let us go.
g. Computers. to duplicate (a file or a program) as a precaution against failure.
43. back up for, Australian Informal. to return for more of, as another helping of food.
—Idioms
44. back and fill,
a. Nautical. to trim the sails of a boat so that the wind strikes them first on the forward and then on the after side.
b. to change one's opinion or position; vacillate.
45. back and forth, South Midland U.S.
a. to go back and forth, as in running errands or visiting: He spent the day backing and forthing to the post office.
b. to work in an aimless or ineffective way; expend effort with little result.
46. back water,
a. Nautical. to reverse the direction of a vessel.
b. to retreat from a position; withdraw an opinion: I predict that the council will back water on the tax issue.
47. be flat on one's back,
a. to be helpless or beaten: He's flat on his back after a long succession of failures.
b. to be confined to one's bed because of illness.
48. behind one's back, in one's absence; without one's knowledge; treacherously; secretly: I'd rather talk to him about it directly than discuss it behind his back.
49. break someone's back, to cause a person to fail, esp. to cause to become bankrupt: His family's extravagance is breaking his back.
50. break the back of,
a. to complete the principal or hardest part of (a project, one's work, etc.): He finally broke the back of the problem.
b. to overcome; defeat: They broke the back of our union.
51. get off one's back, Informal. to cease to find fault with or to disturb someone: The fight started when they wouldn't get off my back.
52. get one's back up, Informal. to become annoyed; take offense: She gets her back up whenever someone mentions her family's influence.
53. have one's back to the wall, to be in a difficult or hopeless situation.
54. in back of, behind: He hid in back of the billboard. What could be in back of his strange behavior? Also, back of.
55. on one's back, Informal. finding fault with or disturbing someone: The boss is always on my back about promptness.
56. pat on the back. pat 1 (defs. 9, 8).
57. stab in the back. stab (def. 13).
58. turn one's back on,
a. to forsake or neglect: He was unable to turn his back on any suffering creature.
b. to leave behind, as in anger.
Use back and fill in a Sentence
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME bak, OE bæc back of the body; c. OFris bek, OS, ON bak; perh. < IE *bhogo- bending; cf. bacon

Related forms:
backless, adjective

Synonyms:
19. sustain, abet, favor, assist; countenance, endorse. 29. retire, retreat, withdraw. 31. Back, hind, posterior, rear refer to something situated behind something else. Back means the opposite of front: back window. Hind, and the more formal word posterior, suggest the rearmost of two or more often similar objects: hind legs; posterior lobe. Rear is used of buildings, conveyances, etc., and in military language it is the opposite of fore: rear end of a truck; rear echelon.

Antonyms:
1, 31. front.

Usage note:
51. Although some object to their use, the phrases in back of and the shorter—and much older—back of with the meaning “behind” are fully established as standard in American English: The car was parked (in) back of the house. Both phrases occur in all types of speech and writing.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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back 1   (bāk)   
n.  

    1. The posterior portion of the trunk of the human body between the neck and the pelvis; the dorsum.

    2. The analogous dorsal region in other animals.

    3. The part of a book where the pages are stitched or glued together into the binding.

    4. The binding itself.

    5. A player who takes a position behind the front line of other players in certain games, such as football and soccer.

    6. This playing position.

  2. The backbone or spine.

  3. The part or area farthest from the front.

  4. The part opposite to or behind that adapted for view or use: the back of the hand; wrote on the back of the photograph.

  5. The reverse side, as of a coin.

  6. A part that supports or strengthens from the rear: the back of a couch.

    1. The part of a book where the pages are stitched or glued together into the binding.

    2. The binding itself.

    3. A player who takes a position behind the front line of other players in certain games, such as football and soccer.

    4. This playing position.

  8. Sports

    1. A player who takes a position behind the front line of other players in certain games, such as football and soccer.

    2. This playing position.

v.   backed, back·ing, backs

v.   tr.

  1. To cause to move backward or in a reverse direction: Back the car up and then make the turn.

  2. To furnish or strengthen with a back or backing.

  3. To provide with financial or moral support; support or endorse: Unions backed the pro-labor candidate. See Synonyms at support.

  4. To provide with musical accompaniment. Often used with up.

  5. To bet or wager on.

  6. To adduce evidence in support of; substantiate: backed the argument with facts.

  7. To form the back or background of: Snowcapped mountains back the village.

v.   intr.

  1. To move backward: backed out of the garage.

  2. To shift to a counterclockwise direction. Used of the wind.

adj.  

  1. Located or placed in the rear: Deliveries should be made at the back entrance.

  2. Distant from a center of activity; remote.

  3. Of a past date; not current: a back issue of a periodical.

  4. Being owed or due from an earlier time; in arrears: back pay.

  5. Being in a backward direction.

  6. Linguistics Pronounced with the back of the tongue, as oo in cool. Used of vowels.

adv.  

  1. At, to, or toward the rear or back; backward.

  2. In, to, or toward a former location: went back for the class reunion.

  3. In, to, or toward a former condition.

  4. In, to, or toward a past time.

  5. In reserve or concealment.

  6. In check or under restraint: Barriers held the crowd back.

  7. In reply or return.

  8. To withdraw from something before completion.

  9. To fail to keep a commitment or promise.

  10. To cause to accumulate or undergo accumulation: The accident backed the traffic up for blocks. Traffic backed up in the tunnel.

  11. Computer Science To make a backup of (a program or file).

Phrasal Verb(s):
back awayTo withdraw from a position; retreat.
back downTo withdraw from a position, opinion, or commitment.
back offTo retreat or draw away.
back out

  1. To withdraw from something before completion.

  2. To fail to keep a commitment or promise.

back up

  1. To cause to accumulate or undergo accumulation: The accident backed the traffic up for blocks. Traffic backed up in the tunnel.

  2. Computer Science To make a backup of (a program or file).


Idiom(s):
back and fill

  1. Nautical To maneuver a vessel in a narrow channel by adjusting the sails so as to let the wind in and out of them in alteration.

  2. To vacillate in one's actions or decisions.


Idiom(s):
back to backConsecutively and without interruption: presented three speeches back to back.

Idiom(s):
behind (one's) backIn one's absence or without one's knowledge.

Idiom(s):
have (one's) back upTo be angry or irritated.

Idiom(s):
off (someone's) backNo longer nagging or urging someone to do something.

Idiom(s):
on (someone's) backPersistently nagging or urging someone to do something.

[Middle English bak, from Old English bæc.]
back'less adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
back

  1. n.
    one's support or second in a fight. (From back-up.) : I need a back I can depend on.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

back 
O.E. bæc "back, backwards, behind," from P.Gmc. *bakam (cf. O.S., M.Du. bak, O.Fris. bek), which mostly has been ousted in other modern Gmc. languages by words akin to Mod.E. ridge. Verb "to move (something) back" is from 1486; meaning "to support" (as by a bet) is first attested 1548. Backbiting is first recorded c.1175; backslide in the religious sense is from 1581; backwoods is from 1709. Back-date first recorded 1946. Backside "rump" is first recorded 1500. Back door "devious, shady, illegal" is from 1643. The verb back off "retreat" is attested from 1930s. Back down in fig. sense of "withdraw a charge" is first attested 1859, Amer.Eng., from notion of descending a ladder, etc. Back-firing "premature ignition in an internal-combustion engine" is first recorded 1897. Back-stabber in the fig. sense is from 1906. Back-seat driver first attested 1926. Back-track "retrace one's steps" is from 1904. Back-to-nature (adj.) is first attested 1915. Backpack is 1914 as a noun, 1916 as a verb. The back of (one's) hand has been used to imply contempt and rejection since at least 1300; to know something like the back of one's hand, implying familiarity, is first attested 1943. Back bench in the House of Commons sense is from 1874. Back-hand as a tennis stroke dates from 1657. Back-talk "impertinent retort" is first recorded 1858, originally often used in literary attempts at low Irish idiom. To be on the back burner in the figurative sense is from 1960. Back-formation coined by Eng. lexicographer James Murray (1837-1915).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: back
Function: adjective
1 : being overdue or in arrears <back rent>
2 : being retroactive esp. as compensation back pay>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: back
Pronunciation: 'bak
Function: noun
1 a : the rear part of the human body especially from the neck to the end of the spine b : the corresponding part of a lower animal (as a quadruped) c : SPINAL COLUMN
2 : the part of the upper surface of the tongue behind the front and lying opposite the soft palate when the tongue is at rest
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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back (bāk)
n.

  1. The posterior portion of the trunk of the human body between the neck and the pelvis; the dorsum.

  2. The backbone or spine.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Idioms & Phrases

back and fill

Vacillate, be undecided, as in This measure will never be passed if the town meeting continues to back and fill. This term comes from sailing ships, where it signifies alternately backing and filling the sails, a method used when the wind is running against a ship in a narrow channel. The sail is hauled back against the wind and braced so that the tide or current carries the ship forward against the wind. Then the sail must be swung around and filled, to keep the ship on course. The term's figurative use for indecisiveness dates from the mid-1800s.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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