Any of several large food and game yellowtail fishes of the genus Seriola, found in warm waters of all oceans.
amberjacks
amberjacks
noun
plural of amberjack
arbuckle
bacbakiri
bacbakiri
noun
Archaic form of bokmakierie.
bachelorlike
bachelorlike
adj
Resembling or characteristic of a bachelor.
backare
backare
intj
Alternative form of baccare
backarrow
backarrows
backbar
backbear
backbearing
backbencher
backbencher
noun
(by extension) Someone who does not play an active role in a process.
(education) A student who does not perform well, especially one who sits at the back of the classroom.
(politics) A Member of Parliament who does not have cabinet rank, and who therefore sits on one of the backbenches or in one of the back rows of the legislature.
(sports) A member of a team who does not usually play, but who is held in reserve.
backbenchers
backbenchers
noun
plural of backbencher
backberand
backberend
backbiter
backbiter
noun
A person who says nasty things about another person behind the second person's back: that is, out of their sight and hearing.
backbiters
backbiters
noun
plural of backbiter
backboard
backboard
noun
(basketball) The flat vertical surface to which the basket is attached.
(medicine) A spine board.
(nautical) The port or larboard side of a ship
(tennis) A flat vertical wall with the image of a tennis net drawn or painted on it, designed to practice hitting against such that the ball rebounds.
A board placed at the back of a cart, boat, etc.
verb
(medicine, transitive) To place (a patient) on a spine board.
backboards
backboards
noun
plural of backboard
verb
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of backboard
backbrand
backbreaker
backbreaker
noun
A strenuous and exhausting task, typically involving physical effort.
backbreakers
backbreakers
noun
plural of backbreaker
backbreaking
backbreaking
adj
(figuratively) Of work, very physically tiring.
backcountry
backcountry
noun
A remote region; countryside that is relatively inaccessible; the boondocks.
backcourt
backcourt
noun
(basketball) A team's defensive half of the court; the part of the court where the other team's basket is located, or the guards playing in that area.
(chiefly Scotland) A courtyard behind a housing block or tenement building.
backcourtman
backcourtman
noun
(basketball) A backcourt player.
backcourtmen
backcourtmen
noun
plural of backcourtman
backcross
backcross
noun
(genetics) An organism produced by such a crossing.
(genetics) The act of crossing a hybrid with one of its parents.
(juggling) Alternative form of back cross
verb
(genetics) To cross a hybrid with one of its parents.
backcrossed
backcrossed
verb
simple past tense and past participle of backcross
backcrosses
backcrosses
noun
plural of backcross
verb
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of backcross
backcrossing
backcrossing
noun
(genetics) The crossing of a hybrid with one of its parents or an individual genetically similar to its parent.
verb
present participle of backcross
backdoor
backdoor
noun
Alternative spelling of back door, which can be used attributively.
verb
Alternative spelling of back door
backdrop
backdrop
noun
(figurative) Any background situation.
A decorated cloth hung at the back of a stage.
An image that serves as a visual background.
The setting or background of an acted performance.
verb
(transitive) To serve as a backdrop for.
backdropped
backdropped
verb
simple past tense and past participle of backdrop
backdropping
backdropping
verb
present participle of backdrop
backdrops
backdrops
noun
plural of backdrop
backer
backer
adj
(phonetics) comparative form of back: more back
noun
One who, or that which, backs; especially one who backs an entrant in a contest, or who supports an enterprise by funding it.
backers
backers
noun
plural of backer
backfatter
backfatter
noun
A pig yielding significant backfat.
backfiller
backfiller
noun
A machine for refilling an excavation.
backfire
backfire
noun
(firefighting) Alternative spelling of back fire
A premature explosion in the cylinder of a gas or oil engine during the exhaust or the compression stroke, tending to drive the piston in the wrong direction.
An explosion in other equipment.
An explosion in the exhaust passages of an internal combustion engine.
verb
(of a gun, cannon, Bunsen burner, etc.) To fire in the opposite direction, for example due to an obstruction in the barrel.
(of an engine) To experience a premature ignition of fuel or an ignition of exhaust gases, making a popping sound.
To fail in a manner that brings down further misfortune.
backfired
backfired
verb
simple past tense and past participle of backfire
backfires
backfires
noun
plural of backfire
verb
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of backfire
backfiring
backfiring
noun
A failure that leads to further misfortune.
The occurrence of a backfire.
verb
present participle of backfire
backframe
backfriend
backfriend
noun
(UK, dialectal) A friend at one's back; a backer; one who does his best for another; a supporter.
(UK, dialectal) A hangnail.
(UK, dialectal, obsolete) A false friend; a secret enemy.
backfurrow
backfurrow
noun
(agriculture) The line of piled soil thrown up beside a furrow when it is created by a plow
verb
(agriculture) To throw or turn the soil in alternating directions for every other row that is plowed, so that every pair of furrows has a single backfurrow with clear areas on the outside.
backgeared
background
background
adj
Less important or less noticeable in a scene or system.
noun
(computing) A type of activity on a computer that is not normally visible to the user.
(computing) The image or color over which a computer's desktop items are shown (e.g. icons or application windows).
(physics) Clipping of background radiation.
A less important feature of scenery (as opposed to foreground).
A part of the picture that depicts scenery to the rear or behind the main subject; context.
Information relevant to the current situation about past events; history.
One's social heritage, or previous life; what one did in the past.
verb
(journalism) To gather and provide background information (on).
To put in a position that is not prominent.
simple past tense and past participle of backgrind
backgrounded
backgrounded
adj
(computing) (of a task) Made non-interactive
Moved to the background
verb
simple past tense and past participle of background
backgrounder
backgrounder
noun
(chiefly US) A briefing or document typically provided prior to a meeting or other event that gives basic details on subjects that are likely to be mentioned.
A cattle farmer or rancher who runs a backgrounding operation.
A person employed to draw backgrounds for a comic or cartoon.
backgrounds
backgrounds
noun
plural of background
verb
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of background
backhander
backhander
noun
(informal) A bribe, a secret payment.
(racquet sports) A player who plays a backhand shot.
(racquet sports) A shot played backhand, a backhand stroke.
(surfing) A surfer who approaches a swell with the wave behind them ("on their backhand") rather than facing the wave ("on their forehand").
A blow with the back of the hand.
A glass of wine given out of turn, the bottle having been handed backwards.
backhanders
backhanders
noun
plural of backhander
backhooker
backiebird
backlasher
backlasher
noun
A participant in a backlash
backlashers
backlashers
noun
plural of backlasher
backler
backlotter
backorder
backorder
noun
An order that cannot be currently filled or shipped, but is requested nonetheless for when the item becomes available again.
verb
To place such an order
backpacker
backpacker
noun
(music, slang) A fan or performer of backpack rap.
A traveler whose luggage consists of a backpack; especially, such a traveler who uses hostels, public transport, and other inexpensive services.
backpackers
backpackers
noun
A hostel catering to backpackers.
plural of backpacker
backpointer
backpointers
backrest
backrest
noun
A guide attached to the slide rest of a lathe, and placed in contact with the work to steady it in turning.
The back piece of a chair, used to support the sitter's back.
backrests
backrests
noun
plural of backrest
backrope
backropes
backrun
backrun
noun
A reverse flow, either of a fluid or of an anchor chain.
backrush
backrush
noun
A rushing backward; a retreat.
backrushes
backrushes
noun
plural of backrush
backscatter
backscatter
noun
(computing) The sending of IP packets to essentially random addresses in response to incoming packets that have a spoofed origin.
(military) A portion of the energy of electromagnetic radiation such as a laser or radio waves that is scattered back in the direction of the source of radiation by an obscurant.
(physics) The deflection of particles and/or radiation through angles greater than 90 degrees to the original direction of travel.
The particles and/or radiation deflected in this manner.
verb
To scatter particles and/or radiation back to the direction from which they come.
backscattered
backscattered
verb
past participle of backscatter
backscattering
backscattering
noun
(physics) The scattering of waves, particles, or signals back in the direction of their source.
verb
present participle of backscatter
backscatters
backscatters
noun
plural of backscatter
verb
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of backscatter
backscraper
backscratcher
backscratcher
noun
A long slender rod with a rake-like device on one end, sometimes in the form of a human hand, designed to let a person scratch their own back.
backscratching
backscratching
verb
present participle of backscratch
backsettler
backsettler
noun
One living in the back or outlying districts of a community.
backslapper
backslapper
noun
One who makes a show of liking another person with profuse or excessive displays of camaraderie, such as vigorous hand clasping, back-slapping, hearty words of greeting, etc.
backslappers
backslappers
noun
plural of backslapper
backslider
backslider
noun
A recidivist; one who backslides, especially in a religious sense; an apostate.
She married him thinking to change his ways, and for a while he got religion, but he was ever a backslider; she soon began finding bottles stashed about the house.
backsliders
backsliders
noun
plural of backslider
backspacer
backspacer
noun
A mechanism in a typewriter that controls backspacing.
backspear
backspeer
backspeir
backspier
backspierer
backspread
backspringing
backstabber
backstabber
noun
A traitor or hypocrite, such as a co-worker or friend assumed trustworthy but who figuratively attacks when one's back is turned.
backstabbers
backstabbers
noun
plural of backstabber
backstair
backstair
adj
clandestine, secret or furtive
noun
The backstairs (stairs at the rear of a building).
backstairs
backstairs
adj
Secret or furtive.
noun
A staircase at the rear of a building or one normally only used by servants and tradesmen.
An indirect or furtive means of access or intercourse.
backster
backster
noun
(obsolete) A baker.
backstories
backstories
noun
plural of backstory
backstrap
backstrap
noun
(drugs) The rolling a marijuana cigarette in a certain fashion
(firearms) The rearmost surface applied to the grip especially of a pistol below a possible beavertail.
A loin of meat consisting of the muscle on each side of the spine.
A pull strap extending the backstay of a boot or shoe.
An anchoring strap, passed around the waist or hips, for a small loom.
The backbone of a book.
verb
To apply or make into a backstrap.
backstrapped
backstreet
backstreet
adj
(figuratively) Done in poor and unsanitary conditions, secretly and illegally; back-alley.
Associated with neighborhoods on back streets, often in older neighborhoods, with poorer residents.
noun
Alternative spelling of back street
backstreets
backstreets
noun
plural of backstreet
backstretch
backstretch
noun
(athletics, horse racing, car racing) Synonym of back straight (“straight part of a racetrack, running track, etc., opposite the finishing line”).
(exercise) An exercise that stretches the muscles of the back.
(figuratively) The middle part of an event.
(horse racing) An area next to a racetrack used to stable the racehorses and house employees.
backstretches
backstretches
noun
plural of backstretch.
backstring
backstrip
backstroke
backstroke
noun
(bellringing) The pull on the tail of the rope that swings the bell through a full circle (compare handstroke)
(swimming) A stroke swum lying on one's back, while rotating both arms through the water as to propel the swimmer backwards.
A backhanded stroke or blow.
verb
To swim the backstroke.
backstroked
backstroked
verb
simple past tense and past participle of backstroke
backstrokes
backstrokes
noun
plural of backstroke
verb
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of backstroke
backstroking
backstroking
verb
present participle of backstroke
backstromite
backstromite
noun
(mineralogy) Synonym of hydrohausmannite
backswimmer
backswimmer
noun
Any of various aquatic insects, of the family Notonectidae, that swim on their backs.
backsword
backsword
noun
(UK, dated) A stick with a basket handle, used in rustic amusements.
(UK, dated) The game in which the stick is used.
A sword with one sharp edge.
backswording
backswording
noun
Sport or exercise using a backsword or singlestick.
backswordman
backswordman
noun
(historical) One who fights with a backsword or singlestick.
backswordmen
backswordmen
noun
plural of backswordman
backswordsman
backtender
backtenter
backtrace
backtrace
noun
(computing) A stack trace.
verb
(by extension) To find the cause of something by examining past events
(computing) To examine a stack trace
backtrack
backtrack
noun
the act of backtracking
verb
(aviation) To taxi down an active runway in the opposite direction to that being used for takeoff.
To exercise a racehorse around the racetrack in the opposite direction to that in which races are run.
To repeat or review work already done.
To retrace one's steps.
backtracked
backtracked
verb
simple past tense and past participle of backtrack
backtracker
backtracker
noun
One who, or that which, backtracks.
backtrackers
backtrackers
noun
plural of backtracker
backtracking
backtracking
noun
(aviation) The usage of a runway as a taxiway, especially at private strips and smaller airports.
(computer science) The act of building all possible solutions to a problem incrementally, abandoning any candidate solution if it cannot lead to a valid solution.
(countable, uncountable) The act of one who, or that which, backtracks; a retracing of one's steps.
verb
present participle of backtrack
backtracks
backtracks
noun
plural of backtrack
verb
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of backtrack
backtrail
backtrail
noun
A small path or trail that is not used regularly.
The path over which one has already traveled.
verb
To backtrack along a trail.
backtrick
backvelder
backvelder
noun
A native or inhabitant of the backveld.
backward
backward
adj
(chess) Of a pawn, further behind than pawns of the same colour on adjacent files and unable to be moved forward safely.
(cricket) Further behind the batsman's popping crease than something else.
(cricket) On that part of the field behind the batsman's popping crease.
(figuratively) Acting or moving oppositely to the desired direction of progress.
(figuratively) Of a culture, country, practice etc., undeveloped or unsophisticated.
(figuratively) Slow to apprehend; having difficulties in learning.
(obsolete) Already past or gone; bygone.
(obsolete) Unwilling; averse; reluctant.
Acting or moving in the direction opposite to that in which someone or something is facing.
Acting or moving in the direction opposite to the usual direction of movement.
Lacking progressive or enlightened thought; outdated.
Late or behindhand.
Reluctant or unable to advance or act.
Reversed in order or sequence.
Situated toward or at the rear of something.
adv
(figuratively) Oppositely to the desired direction of progress, or from a better to a worse state.
(obsolete) In the past.
At, near or towards the rear of something.
By way of reflection; reflexively.
In a direction opposite to the usual direction of movement.
In a reversed order or sequence.
In a reversed orientation; back to front.
Toward or into the past;
noun
The state behind or past.
backwardation
backwardation
noun
(obsolete) In the London Stock Exchange: a fee paid by a seller on settlement day either to the buyer or to a third party who lends stock, when the seller wishes to defer settlement until the next settlement day.
In full normal backwardation: the situation in a futures market where the price for future delivery of a commodity (the forward price) is lower than the price for immediate delivery (the spot price) or nearer delivery, generally arising from a near-term shortage of the commodity.
The situation in a stock market where the offer price for stock is lower than the bid price.
backwardly
backwardly
adv
In a backward direction.
backwardness
backwardness
noun
Reluctance.
The state of being backward.
backwardnesses
backwardnesses
noun
plural of backwardness
backwards
backwards
adj
Synonym of backward; see usage notes there.
backwasher
backwasher
noun
(textiles) A machine used for washing wool after carding to remove the impurities.
backwater
backwater
noun
(idiomatic) A remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.
(paper industry) Water used in the papermaking process. Recycled to reduce usage of fresh water, and usually containing residual amounts of chemicals and fibres.
A rowing stroke in which the oar is pushed forward to stop the boat; see back water
The water held back by a dam or other obstruction
verb
(idiomatic) To vacillate on a long-held position.
To row or paddle a backwater stroke.
backwatered
backwatered
verb
simple past tense and past participle of backwater
backwaters
backwaters
noun
plural of backwater
verb
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of backwater
backwoodser
backword
backword
noun
A contention, retort, or reply.
A contradiction or answer to put off an engagement; a countermand.
A section of commentary at the end of a book.
backworm
backworm
noun
(obsolete) The thread-like worm found in filanders, the disease of hawks.
backwort
backwrap
backwrap
noun
(computing, dated) A word wrap feature that restores a word to the preceding line when space is made for it by deletion.
A portion of something that is wrapped backward.
verb
(computing, dated) To restore a word to the preceding line when space is made for it by deletion.
To wrap around the back of something.
backwraps
backwraps
noun
plural of backwrap
verb
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of backwrap
backyard
backyard
noun
(Australia, Canada, New Zealand, US) A yard to the rear of a house or similar residence.
(Australia, Canada, New Zealand, US, colloquial) A person's neighborhood, or an area nearby to a person's usual residence or place of work and where the person is likely to go.
(Australia, Canada, New Zealand, US, colloquial) An area nearby to a country or other jurisdiction's legal boundaries, particularly an area in which the country feels it has an interest.
backyarder
backyarder
noun
One who carries on a project or business in a backyard, especially the raising of poultry.