Synonyms for back
| Grammar : Adj, noun, verb |
| Spell : bak |
| Phonetic Transcription : bæk |
Top 10 synonyms for back Other synonyms for the word back
- aback
- abaft
- abet
- abide by
- aft
- after
- ally
- angel
- astern
- back end
- back of
- backside
- backtrack
- bankroll
- behind
- boost
- champion
- countenance
- delayed
- drive back
- elapsed
- extremity
- fall back
- far end
- final
- following
- former
- give a boost
- give a leg up
- give a lift
- go to bat for
- grubstake
- hind
- hindmost
- hindpart
- hindquarters
- in the wake of
- overdue
- past
- posterior
- previous
- rear
- rearmost
- rearward
- recede
- regress
- repel
- repulse
- retire
- retract
- retreat
- reverse
- sanction
- second
- stake
- stand behind
- stern
- stick by
- stick up for
- subsidize
- sustain
- tail
- tail end
- tailpiece
- turn tail
- underwrite
- withdraw
Définition of back
Origin :- Old English bæc "back," from Proto-Germanic *bakam (cf. Old Saxon and Middle Dutch bak, Old Frisian bek), with no known connections outside Germanic.
- The cognates mostly have been ousted in this sense in other modern Germanic languages by words akin to Modern English ridge (cf. Danish ryg, German Rücken). Many Indo-European languages show signs of once having distinguished the horizontal back of an animal (or a mountain range) from the upright back of a human. In other cases, a modern word for "back" may come from a word related to "spine" (Italian schiena, Russian spina) or "shoulder, shoulder blade" (Spanish espalda, Polish plecy).
- To turn (one's) back on (someone or something) "ignore" is from early 14c. Behind (someone's) back "clandestinely" is from late 14c.
- To know (something) like the back of one's hand, implying familiarity, is first attested 1893. The first attested use of the phrase is from a dismissive speech made to a character in Robert Louis Stevenson's "Catriona":
- If I durst speak to herself, you may be certain I would never dream of trusting it to you; because I know you like the back of my hand, and all your blustering talk is that much wind to me.
- The story, a sequel to "Kidnapped," has a Scottish setting and context, and the back of my hand to you was noted in the late 19th century as a Scottish expression meaning "I will have nothing to do with you" [e.g. "Jamieson's Dictionary of the Scottish Language"]. In English generally, the back of (one's) hand has been used to imply contempt and rejection since at least 1300. Perhaps the connection of a menacing dismissal is what made Stevenson choose that particular anatomical reference.
- adj end
- adj from earlier time
- noun end part
- verb support
- verb put in reverse direction
- I'm sportively pretending that I can press it back into shape.
- Extract from : « The Spenders » by Harry Leon Wilson
- "But I must get back to my babies," said Mrs. Bines, plaintively.
- Extract from : « The Spenders » by Harry Leon Wilson
- Listen to the voice that tries to win you back to innocence and truth!
- Extract from : « Philothea » by Lydia Maria Child
- Well, he don't appear to be here; I'll go round to the back part of the house.
- Extract from : « Brave and Bold » by Horatio Alger
- He went round to the back door, where he thought it best, in the first place, to knock.
- Extract from : « Brave and Bold » by Horatio Alger
- "Here's hoping we'll soon be back in God's own country," said Oldaker, raising his glass.
- Extract from : « The Spenders » by Harry Leon Wilson
- When you get back, if you get a chance to see him privately, you may tell him there is no danger of that.
- Extract from : « Brave and Bold » by Horatio Alger
- The captain had told him to be back in an hour, and he felt that it was time for him to be stirring.
- Extract from : « Brave and Bold » by Horatio Alger
- With a sharp piece of flint he cut the fur of the animal's back.
- Extract from : « Ancient Man » by Hendrik Willem van Loon
- A few years only back, every Carolinian rode to town, and the motor was unknown.
- Extract from : « 'Tis Sixty Years Since » by Charles Francis Adams
Antonyms for back
Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019