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backward

Pronunciation: /ˈbakwəd/

Translate backward | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of backward

adjective

  • 1directed behind or to the rear:she left the room without a backward glance
  • reverting to an inferior state; retrograde:the decision was a backward step
  • 2having made less progress than is normal or expected:a backward agricultural country
  • (of a person) having learning difficulties: a lively child but a bit backward
  • 3 [with negative] (backward in) lacking the confidence to do (something):he was not backward in displaying his talents
  • 4 Cricket (of a fielding position) behind an imaginary line passing through the stumps at the batsman’s end at right angles to the wicket: backward square leg

adverb

Derivatives

backwardly

adverb

backwardness

noun

Origin:

Middle English: from earlier abackward, from aback

In most adverbial uses backward and backwards are interchangeable: the car rolled slowly backward and the car rolled slowly backwards are both equally acceptable. In North American English backward tends to be preferred to backwards, while in British English it is the other way round. As an adjective, on the other hand, the standard form is backward rather than backwards: uses such as a backwards glance (as opposed to a backward glance) are unusual.

backward in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of backward in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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