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backwards

back·ward
B b

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [bak-werd]
    • /ˈbæk wərd/
    • /ˈbækwədz/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [bak-werd]
    • /ˈbæk wərd/

Definitions of backwards word

  • adverb backwards If you move or look backwards, you move or look in the direction that your back is facing. 3
  • adverb backwards Backwards is also an adjective. 3
  • adverb backwards If you do something backwards, you do it in the opposite way to the usual way. 3
  • adverb backwards You use backwards to indicate that something changes or develops in a way that is not an improvement, but is a return to old ideas or methods. 3
  • adverb backwards towards the rear 3
  • adverb backwards with the back foremost 3

Information block about the term

Origin of backwards

First appearance:

before 1250
One of the 11% oldest English words
First recorded in 1250-1300, backward is from the Middle English word bakwarde. See back1, -ward

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Backwards

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation

backwards popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 93% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

backwards usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for backwards

adv backwards

  • backward — A backward movement or look is in the direction that your back is facing. Some people use backwards for this meaning.
  • rearward — Also, rearwards. toward or in the rear.
  • about — You use about to introduce who or what something relates to or concerns.
  • around — To be positioned around a place or object means to surround it or be on all sides of it. To move around a place means to go along its edge, back to your starting point.
  • back — If you move back, you move in the opposite direction to the one in which you are facing or in which you were moving before.

adjective backwards

  • orderless — an authoritative direction or instruction; command; mandate.

Antonyms for backwards

adverb backwards

  • onwards — toward a point ahead or in front; forward, as in space or time.
  • in front — the foremost part or surface of anything.
  • alee — on or towards the lee
  • in front of — the foremost part or surface of anything.

Top questions with backwards

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See also

Matching words

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