back

in or to or toward a former location

• “she went back to her parents”

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”

in or to or toward an original condition

• “he went back to sleep”

in or to or toward a past time

• “set the clocks back an hour”
• “never look back”
• “lovers of the past looking fondly backward”

in answer

• “he wrote back three days later”
• “had little to say in reply to the questions”

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”

the posterior part of a human (or animal) body from the neck to the end of the spine

• “his back was nicely tanned”

the side that goes last or is not normally seen

• “he wrote the date on the back of the photograph”

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”

(football) a person who plays in the backfield

the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord

• “the fall broke his back”

the front and back covering of a book

• “the book had a leather binding”

the part of a garment that covers your back

• “they pinned a”
• “sign on his back”

a support that you can lean against while sitting

• “the back of the dental chair was adjustable”

the position of a player on a football team who is stationed behind the line of scrimmage

be behind; approve of

• “He plumped for the Labor Party”
• “I backed Kennedy in 1960”

travel backward

• “back into the driveway”
• “The car backed up and hit the tree”

give support or one''s approval to

• “I”
• “;”
• “t back this plan”
• “endorse a new project”

cause to travel backward

• “back the car into the parking spot”

support financial backing for

• “back this enterprise”

be in back of

• “My garage backs their yard”

place a bet on

• “Which horse are you backing?”
• “I”

shift to a counterclockwise direction

• “the wind backed”

establish as valid or genuine

• “Can you back up your claims?”

strengthen by providing with a back or backing

related to or located at the back

• “the back yard”
• “the back entrance”

located at or near the back of an animal

• “back (or hind) legs”
• “the hinder part of a carcass”

of an earlier date

• “back issues of the magazine”