dictionary

1: a press conference or interview in which a government official explains to reporters the background of an action or policy; "the secretary gave us a backgrounder on public health issues"

1: the execution of low priority programs while higher priority programs are not using the processing system [syn: {background processing}]

1: (of racket strokes) made across the body with back of hand facing direction of stroke [syn: {backhand(a)}, {backhanded}] [ant: {forehand(a)}] 2: (of handwriting) having the letters slanting from le...

1: a hard straight return made on the backhand side

1: a return made with the back of the hand facing the direction of the stroke [syn: {backhand}, {backhand stroke}]

1: a return made with the back of the hand facing the direction of the stroke [syn: {backhand}, {backhand shot}]

1: (of racket strokes) made across the body with back of hand facing direction of stroke [syn: {backhand(a)}] [ant: {forehand(a)}] 2: roundabout or ambiguous; "attacks from tht source amounted to a ba...

1: an excavator whose shovel bucket is attached to a hinged boom and is drawn backward to move earth

1: the act of providing approval and support; "his vigorous backing of the conservatives got him in trouble with progressives" [syn: {backup}, {championship}, {patronage}] 2: something forming a back ...

1: a movement back from an impact [syn: {recoil}, {repercussion}, {rebound}] 2: an adverse reaction to some political or social occurrence; "there was a backlash of intolerance" v : have an unexpected...

1: lacking a back; "a stool is a backless and armless seat" [ant: {backed}]

1: an accumulation of jobs not done or materials not processed that are yet to be dealt with (especially unfilled customer orders for products or services) 2: large log at the back of a hearth fire [s...

1: located farthest to the rear [syn: {hindermost}, {hindmost}, {rearmost}]

1: a bag carried by a strap on your back or shoulder [syn: {back pack}, {knapsack}, {packsack}, {rucksack}, {haversack}] v : hike with a backpack; "Every summer they are backpacking in the Rockies" [s...

1: a hiker who wears a backpack [syn: {packer}]

1: carrying something in a pack on the back; "the backpacking of oxygen is essential for astronauts" [syn: {packing}]

1: a tent that can be carried in a backpack [syn: {pack tent}]

1: pedal backwards on a bicycle 2: step backwards, in boxing 3: modify one' opinion, make it less strong

1: plate armor protecting the back; worn as part of a cuirass

1: a support that you can lean against while sitting; "the back of the dental chair was adjustable" [syn: {back}]

1: the meeting place of a group of leaders who make their decisions via private negotiations

1: an expert adviser involved in making important decisions but usually lacking official status [syn: {brain truster}]

1: a handsaw stiffened by metal along upper edge

1: scatter (radiation) by the atoms of the medium through which it passes

1: someone who is willing to trade favors or services for mutual advantage 2: a long-handled scratcher for scratching your back

1: a secondary or inferior position or status; "tennis has had to take a backseat while his work is so demanding" 2: a seat at the rear (especially the backseat of an automobile)

1: a meddler who insists on giving unwanted advice

1: a relatively small amount of money given for services rendered (as by a waiter) [syn: {gratuity}, {tip}, {pourboire}, {baksheesh}, {bakshish}, {bakshis}]

1: the side of an object that is opposite its front; "his room was toward the rear of the hotel" [syn: {rear}, {back end}] [ant: {front}] 2: the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on; "he dese...

1: display excessive cordiality (towards); "he is always backslapping his colleagues at staff meetings"

1: someone who demonstrates enthusiastic or excessive cordiality

{backslide}

{backslide}

1: drop to a lower level, as in one's morals or standards [syn: {lapse}] [also: {backslidden}, {backslid}]

1: someone who lapses into previous undesirable patterns of behavior [syn: {recidivist}, {reversionist}]

1: a failure to maintain a higher state [syn: {lapse}, {lapsing}, {relapse}, {relapsing}, {reversion}, {reverting}]

1: hit the backspace key on a computer or typewriter keyboard; "To erase, you must backspace"

1: a control character that indicates moving a space to the left

1: the typewriter key used for back spacing [syn: {backspacer}]

1: the typewriter key used for back spacing [syn: {backspace key}]

1: spin (usually of a moving ball) that retards or reverses the forward motion

1: concealed from the public n : a stage area out of sight of the audience [syn: {wing}, {offstage}] adv 1: out of view of the public; behind the scenes; "Working backstage to gain political support f...

1: secret and sly or sordid; "backstairs gossip"; "his low backstairs cunning"- A.L.Guerard; "backstairs intimacies"; "furtive behavior" [syn: {backstairs}, {furtive}]

1: secret and sly or sordid; "backstairs gossip"; "his low backstairs cunning"- A.L.Guerard; "backstairs intimacies"; "furtive behavior" [syn: {backstair}, {furtive}] n : a second staircase at the rea...

1: a stay that supports the back of something

1: overlapping stitch made by starting next stitch at middle of preceding one v : do backstitches

1: (baseball) a fence or screen (as behind home plate) v : act as a backstop

1: a swimming stroke that resembles the crawl except the swimmer lies on his or her back v : swim on one's back

1: someone who swims the backstroke

1: used of hair [syn: {sweptback}]

1: predaceous aquatic insect that swims on its back and may inflict painful bites [syn: {Notonecta undulata}]

1: a stick used instead of a sword for fencing [syn: {singlestick}, {fencing stick}] 2: a sword with only one cutting edge

1: an impudent or insolent rejoinder; "don't give me any of your sass" [syn: {sass}, {sassing}, {back talk}, {lip}, {mouth}]

1: retrace one's course; "The hikers got into a storm and had to turn back" [syn: {turn back}, {double back}]

1: an accumulation caused by clogging or a stoppage; "a traffic backup on the main street"; "he discovered a backup in the toilet" 2: someone who takes the place of another (as when things get dangero...

1: (computer science) a computer file dedicated to storing and updating computer backups

1: someone who takes the place of another (as when things get dangerous or difficult); "the star had a stand-in for dangerous scenes"; "we need extra employees for summer fill-ins" [syn: {stand-in}, {...

1: directed or facing toward the back or rear; "a backward view" [ant: {forward}] 2: (used of temperament or behavior) marked by a retiring nature; "a backward lover" [ant: {forward}] 3: retarded in i...

1: moving from one place to another and back again; "he traveled back and forth between Los Angeles and New York" [syn: {back and forth}, {to and fro}]

1: lack of normal development of intellectual capacities [syn: {retardation}, {mental retardation}, {slowness}, {subnormality}]