back
back away
1 [PHRASAL VERB] V P from n, V P
If you back away from a commitment that you made or something that you were involved with in the past, you try to show that you are no longer committed to it or involved with it.
The company backed away from plans to cut their pay by 15%...
Until yesterday, Britain had backed away because it didn't like the cost.
= retreat
2 [PHRASAL VERB] V P, also V P from n
If you back away, you walk backwards away from someone or something, often because you are frightened of them.
James got to his feet and started to come over, but the girls hastily backed away.back burn|er
also backburner
[N-SING] usu the N
If you put an issue on the back burner, you leave it in order to deal with it later because you now consider it to have become less urgent or important.
Many speculated that the US would put the peace process on the back burner...back cata|logue (back catalogues)
[N-COUNT] oft poss N
A musical performer's back catalogue is the music which they recorded and released in the past rather than their latest recordings.back copy (back copies)
[N-COUNT]
A back copy of a magazine or newspaper is the same as a back issue.back coun|try
also backcountry
[N-SING] the N
The back country is an area that is a long way from any city and has very few people living in it. (AM)
They have moved deep into the back country.back down
[PHRASAL VERB] V P, V P on/over n
If you back down, you withdraw a claim, demand, or commitment that you made earlier, because other people are strongly opposed to it.
It's too late to back down now...
He had to back down on plans to backdate the tax changes.back is|sue (back issues)
[N-COUNT]
A back issue of a magazine or newspaper is one that was published some time ago and is not the most recent.
= back numberback num|ber (back numbers)
[N-COUNT]
A back number of a magazine or newspaper is the same as a back issue.back off
1 [PHRASAL VERB] V P
If you back off, you move away in order to avoid problems or a fight.
They backed off in horror.
2 [PHRASAL VERB] V P from n, V P n
If you back off from a claim, demand, or commitment that you made earlier, or if you back off it, you withdraw it.
A spokesman says the president has backed off from his threat to boycott the conference...
The union has publicly backed off that demand.back out
[PHRASAL VERB] V P of n, V P
If you back out, you decide not to do something that you previously agreed to do.
Madonna backed out of the project after much wrangling...
Wells was supposed to put up half the money, but later backed out.
= pull outback pas|sage (back passages)
[N-COUNT]
People sometimes refer to their rectum as their back passage. (BRIT INFORMAL)back pay
[N-UNCOUNT]
Back pay is money which an employer owes an employee for work that he or she did in the past. (BUSINESS)
He will receive $6,000 in back pay.back road (back roads)
[N-COUNT]
A back road is a small country road with very little traffic.back street (back streets)
also back-street, backstreet
1 [N-COUNT]
A back street in a town or city is a small, narrow street with very little traffic.
The small church of San Michel is tucked away in a narrow back street of Port-au-Prince.
...backstreet garages.
2 [N-PLURAL]
The back streets of a town or city are the areas of small, old, poor streets rather than the richer or newer areas.
...the back streets of Berlin.
3 [ADJ] ADJ n
Back street activities are carried out unofficially, secretly, and often illegally.
...back street abortions.back up
1 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), also V n P
If someone or something backs up a statement, they supply evidence to suggest that it is true.
Radio signals received from the galaxy's centre back up the black hole theory...
= support
2 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), V n P
If you back up a computer file, you make a copy of it which you can use if the original file is damaged or lost. (COMPUTING)
Make a point of backing up your files at regular intervals...
I get so annoyed when I lose work because I've forgotten to back it up.
3 [PHRASAL VERB] be V-ed P, V P n (not pron), also V n P
If an idea or intention is backed up by action, action is taken to support or confirm it.
The Secretary General says the declaration must now be backed up by concrete and effective actions...
It is time the Government backed up its advert campaigns with tougher measures.
4 [PHRASAL VERB] V n P, also V P n (not pron)
If you back someone up, you show your support for them.
His employers, Norfolk social services, backed him up.
= support
5 [PHRASAL VERB] V n P, also V P n (not pron)
If you back someone up, you help them by confirming that what they are saying is true.
The girl denied being there, and the man backed her up.
6 [PHRASAL VERB] V P, V P to n
If you back up, the car or other vehicle that you are driving moves back a short distance.
Back up, Hans...
A police van drove through the protesters and backed up to the front door of the house.
= reverse
7 [PHRASAL VERB] V-ed P, also V P, V P n (not pron)
If vehicles back up, they form a line of traffic which has to wait before it can move on.
Traffic into London on the M11 was backed up for several miles.
8 [PHRASAL VERB] V P, V P amount
If you back up, you move backwards a short distance.
I backed up carefully until I felt the wall against my back...
She backed up a few steps.
9
see also backup♦♦♦ back1 /b'æk/ (back) ADVERB USES
In addition to the uses shown below, back is also used in phrasal verbs such as `date back' and `fall back on'.
Please look at category 17 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1 [ADV] ADV after v, oft ADV prep
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.
The photographers drew back to let us view the body...
She stepped back from the door expectantly...
He pushed her away and she fell back on the wooden bench...
2 [ADV] ADV after v, be ADV, oft ADV prep/adv
If you go back somewhere, you return to where you were before.
I went back to bed...
I'm due back in London by late afternoon...
Smith changed his mind and moved back home...
I'll be back as soon as I can...
He made a round-trip to the terminal and back.
3 [ADV] ADV after v, be ADV, oft ADV prep
If someone or something is back in a particular state, they were in that state before and are now in it again.
The rail company said it expected services to get slowly back to normal...
Denise hopes to be back at work by the time her daughter is one...
4 [ADV] ADV after v, oft ADV prep
If you give or put something back, you return it to the person who had it or to the place where it was before you took it. If you get or take something back, you then have it again after not having it for a while.
She handed the knife back...
Put it back in the freezer...
You'll get your money back.
5 [ADV] ADV after v
If you put a clock or watch back, you change the time shown on it so that it shows an earlier time, for example when the time changes to winter time or standard time.
6 [ADV] ADV after v, oft ADV prep
If you write or call back, you write to or telephone someone after they have written to or telephoned you. If you look back at someone, you look at them after they have started looking at you.
They wrote back to me and they told me that I didn't have to do it...
If the phone rings say you'll call back after dinner...
Lee looked at Theodora. She stared back.
7 [ADV] ADV after v, ADV to n
You can say that you go or come back to a particular point in a conversation to show that you are mentioning or discussing it again.
Can I come back to the question of policing once again?...
Going back to the school, how many staff are there?
8 [ADV] ADV after v, be ADV, oft ADV prep
If something is or comes back, it is fashionable again after it has been unfashionable for some time.
Short skirts are back...
Consensus politics could easily come back into fashion.
9 [ADV] ADV after v, be ADV, oft ADV from n
If someone or something is kept or situated back from a place, they are at a distance away from it.
Keep back from the edge of the platform...
I'm a few miles back from the border...
He started for Dot's bedroom and Myrtle held him back.
10 [ADV] ADV after v
If something is held or tied back, it is held or tied so that it does not hang loosely over something.
The curtains were held back by tassels.
11 [ADV] ADV after v
If you lie or sit back, you move your body backwards into a relaxed sloping or flat position, with your head and body resting on something.
She lay back and stared at the ceiling...
She leaned back in her chair and smiled.
≠ forward
12 [ADV] ADV after v, oft ADV prep
If you look or shout back at someone or something, you turn to look or shout at them when they are behind you.
Nick looked back over his shoulder and then stopped, frowning...
He called back to her.
13 [ADV] ADV with v, ADV prep
You use back in expressions like back in London or back at the house when you are giving an account, to show that you are going to start talking about what happened or was happening in the place you mention.
Meanwhile, back in London, Palace Pictures was collapsing...
Later, back at home, the telephone rang.
14 [ADV] ADV with v, ADV prep, n ADV
If you talk about something that happened back in the past or several years back, you are emphasizing that it happened quite a long time ago.
The story starts back in 1950, when I was five...
He contributed £50m to the project a few years back.
15 [ADV] ADV after v, ADV to n
If you think back to something that happened in the past, you remember it or try to remember it.
I thought back to the time in 1975 when my son was desperately ill...
16 [PHRASE] PHR after v
If someone moves back and forth, they repeatedly move in one direction and then in the opposite direction.
He paced back and forth...
17
to cast your mind back: see mind♦♦♦ back2 /b'æk/ (back backs) OPPOSITE OF FRONT; NOUN AND ADJECTIVE USES
Please look at category 17 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1 [N-COUNT] oft poss N
A person's or animal's back is the part of their body between their head and their legs that is on the opposite side to their chest and stomach.
She turned her back to the audience...
Three of the victims were shot in the back...
2 [N-COUNT] usu sing, oft the N of n
The back of something is the side or part of it that is towards the rear or farthest from the front. The back of something is normally not used or seen as much as the front.
...a room at the back of the shop...
She raised her hands to the back of her neck...
Smooth the mixture with the back of a soup spoon...
≠ front
3 [ADJ] ADJ n
Back is used to refer to the side or part of something that is towards the rear or farthest from the front.
He opened the back door...
Ann could remember sitting in the back seat of their car.
...the path leading to the back garden.
≠ front
4 [N-COUNT] usu sing, with supp
The back of a chair or sofa is the part that you lean against when you sit on it.
There was a neatly folded pink sweater on the back of the chair.
5 [N-COUNT] the N, usu sing
The back of something such as a piece of paper or an envelope is the side which is less important.
Send your answers on the back of a postcard.
≠ front
6 [N-COUNT] the N, usu sing
The back of a book is the part nearest the end, where you can find the index or the notes, for example.
...the index at the back of the book...
≠ front
7 [N-SING] prep the N
You can use back in expressions such as round the back and out the back to refer generally to the area behind a house or other building. (BRIT SPOKEN)
He had chickens and things round the back...
8 [N-UNCOUNT] prep N, oft N of n
You use back in expressions such as out back to refer to the area behind a house or other building. You also use in back to refer to the rear part of something, especially a car or building. (AM)
Dan informed her that he would be out back on the patio cleaning his shoes...
Catlett got behind the wheel and I sat in back...
9 [N-COUNT]
In team games such as football and hockey, a back is a player who is concerned mainly with preventing the other team from scoring goals, rather than scoring goals for their own team.
= defender
≠ forward
10 [N-COUNT]
In American football, a back is a player who stands behind the front line, runs with the ball and attacks rather than defends.
11 [PHRASE] PHR after v
If you say that something was done behind someone's back, you disapprove of it because it was done without them knowing about it, in an unfair or dishonest way.
You eat her food, enjoy her hospitality and then criticize her behind her back.
12 [PHRASE] V inflects, PHR n
If you break the back of a task or problem, you do the most difficult part of what is necessary to complete the task or solve the problem.
It seems at least that we've broken the back of inflation in this country...
13 [PHRASE]
If two or more things are done back to back, one follows immediately after the other without any interruption.
...two half-hour shows, which will be screened back to back.
14 [PHRASE] PHR after v
If you are wearing something back to front, you are wearing it with the back of it at the front of your body. If you do something back to front, you do it the wrong way around, starting with the part that should come last. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use backward)
He wears his baseball cap back to front...
The picture was printed back to front.
= backwards
15 [PHRASE]
If you say that one thing happens on the back of another thing, you mean that it happens after that other thing and in addition to it.
The cuts, if approved, come on the back of a difficult eight years that have seen three London fire stations closed.
16 [PHRASE]
If someone is on the back foot, or if something puts them on the back foot, they feel threatened and act defensively.
From now on Labour will be on the back foot on the subject of welfare.
...another scheme designed purely to put the Scots Nationalists on the back foot.
17 [PHRASE] V inflects
If someone or something puts your back up or gets your back up, they annoy you. (INFORMAL)
Some food labelling practices really get my back up.
= irritate
18
to take a back seat: see seat♦♦♦ back3 /b'æk/ (back backs backing backed) VERB USES
1 [VERB] V onto n, V onto n
If a building backs onto something, the back of it faces in the direction of that thing or touches the edge of that thing.
We live in a ground floor flat which backs onto a busy street...
His garden backs onto a school.
2 [VERB] V n prep/adv, V, also V n
When you back a car or other vehicle somewhere or when it backs somewhere, it moves backwards.
He backed his car out of the drive...
I heard the engines revving as the lorries backed and turned.
= reverse
3 [VERB] V n
If you back a person or a course of action, you support them, for example by voting for them or giving them money.
There is a new witness to back his claim that he is a victim of mistaken identity.
= support
● -backed [COMB in ADJ]
...government-backed loans to Egypt.
4 [VERB] V n to-inf, V n
If you back a particular person, team, or horse in a competition, you predict that they will win, and usually you bet money that they will win.
Roland Nilsson last night backed Sheffield Wednesday to win the UEFA Cup...
It is upsetting to discover that you have backed a loser.
5 [VERB] usu passive, be V-ed by n
If a singer is backed by a band or by other singers, they provide the musical background for the singer.
She was backed by acoustic guitar, bass and congas.
6
see also backing
1 [PHRASAL VERB] V P from n, V P
If you back away from a commitment that you made or something that you were involved with in the past, you try to show that you are no longer committed to it or involved with it.
The company backed away from plans to cut their pay by 15%...
Until yesterday, Britain had backed away because it didn't like the cost.
= retreat
2 [PHRASAL VERB] V P, also V P from n
If you back away, you walk backwards away from someone or something, often because you are frightened of them.
James got to his feet and started to come over, but the girls hastily backed away.back burn|er
also backburner
[N-SING] usu the N
If you put an issue on the back burner, you leave it in order to deal with it later because you now consider it to have become less urgent or important.
Many speculated that the US would put the peace process on the back burner...back cata|logue (back catalogues)
[N-COUNT] oft poss N
A musical performer's back catalogue is the music which they recorded and released in the past rather than their latest recordings.back copy (back copies)
[N-COUNT]
A back copy of a magazine or newspaper is the same as a back issue.back coun|try
also backcountry
[N-SING] the N
The back country is an area that is a long way from any city and has very few people living in it. (AM)
They have moved deep into the back country.back down
[PHRASAL VERB] V P, V P on/over n
If you back down, you withdraw a claim, demand, or commitment that you made earlier, because other people are strongly opposed to it.
It's too late to back down now...
He had to back down on plans to backdate the tax changes.back is|sue (back issues)
[N-COUNT]
A back issue of a magazine or newspaper is one that was published some time ago and is not the most recent.
= back numberback num|ber (back numbers)
[N-COUNT]
A back number of a magazine or newspaper is the same as a back issue.back off
1 [PHRASAL VERB] V P
If you back off, you move away in order to avoid problems or a fight.
They backed off in horror.
2 [PHRASAL VERB] V P from n, V P n
If you back off from a claim, demand, or commitment that you made earlier, or if you back off it, you withdraw it.
A spokesman says the president has backed off from his threat to boycott the conference...
The union has publicly backed off that demand.back out
[PHRASAL VERB] V P of n, V P
If you back out, you decide not to do something that you previously agreed to do.
Madonna backed out of the project after much wrangling...
Wells was supposed to put up half the money, but later backed out.
= pull outback pas|sage (back passages)
[N-COUNT]
People sometimes refer to their rectum as their back passage. (BRIT INFORMAL)back pay
[N-UNCOUNT]
Back pay is money which an employer owes an employee for work that he or she did in the past. (BUSINESS)
He will receive $6,000 in back pay.back road (back roads)
[N-COUNT]
A back road is a small country road with very little traffic.back street (back streets)
also back-street, backstreet
1 [N-COUNT]
A back street in a town or city is a small, narrow street with very little traffic.
The small church of San Michel is tucked away in a narrow back street of Port-au-Prince.
...backstreet garages.
2 [N-PLURAL]
The back streets of a town or city are the areas of small, old, poor streets rather than the richer or newer areas.
...the back streets of Berlin.
3 [ADJ] ADJ n
Back street activities are carried out unofficially, secretly, and often illegally.
...back street abortions.back up
1 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), also V n P
If someone or something backs up a statement, they supply evidence to suggest that it is true.
Radio signals received from the galaxy's centre back up the black hole theory...
= support
2 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), V n P
If you back up a computer file, you make a copy of it which you can use if the original file is damaged or lost. (COMPUTING)
Make a point of backing up your files at regular intervals...
I get so annoyed when I lose work because I've forgotten to back it up.
3 [PHRASAL VERB] be V-ed P, V P n (not pron), also V n P
If an idea or intention is backed up by action, action is taken to support or confirm it.
The Secretary General says the declaration must now be backed up by concrete and effective actions...
It is time the Government backed up its advert campaigns with tougher measures.
4 [PHRASAL VERB] V n P, also V P n (not pron)
If you back someone up, you show your support for them.
His employers, Norfolk social services, backed him up.
= support
5 [PHRASAL VERB] V n P, also V P n (not pron)
If you back someone up, you help them by confirming that what they are saying is true.
The girl denied being there, and the man backed her up.
6 [PHRASAL VERB] V P, V P to n
If you back up, the car or other vehicle that you are driving moves back a short distance.
Back up, Hans...
A police van drove through the protesters and backed up to the front door of the house.
= reverse
7 [PHRASAL VERB] V-ed P, also V P, V P n (not pron)
If vehicles back up, they form a line of traffic which has to wait before it can move on.
Traffic into London on the M11 was backed up for several miles.
8 [PHRASAL VERB] V P, V P amount
If you back up, you move backwards a short distance.
I backed up carefully until I felt the wall against my back...
She backed up a few steps.
9
see also backup♦♦♦ back1 /b'æk/ (back) ADVERB USES
In addition to the uses shown below, back is also used in phrasal verbs such as `date back' and `fall back on'.
Please look at category 17 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1 [ADV] ADV after v, oft ADV prep
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.
The photographers drew back to let us view the body...
She stepped back from the door expectantly...
He pushed her away and she fell back on the wooden bench...
2 [ADV] ADV after v, be ADV, oft ADV prep/adv
If you go back somewhere, you return to where you were before.
I went back to bed...
I'm due back in London by late afternoon...
Smith changed his mind and moved back home...
I'll be back as soon as I can...
He made a round-trip to the terminal and back.
3 [ADV] ADV after v, be ADV, oft ADV prep
If someone or something is back in a particular state, they were in that state before and are now in it again.
The rail company said it expected services to get slowly back to normal...
Denise hopes to be back at work by the time her daughter is one...
4 [ADV] ADV after v, oft ADV prep
If you give or put something back, you return it to the person who had it or to the place where it was before you took it. If you get or take something back, you then have it again after not having it for a while.
She handed the knife back...
Put it back in the freezer...
You'll get your money back.
5 [ADV] ADV after v
If you put a clock or watch back, you change the time shown on it so that it shows an earlier time, for example when the time changes to winter time or standard time.
6 [ADV] ADV after v, oft ADV prep
If you write or call back, you write to or telephone someone after they have written to or telephoned you. If you look back at someone, you look at them after they have started looking at you.
They wrote back to me and they told me that I didn't have to do it...
If the phone rings say you'll call back after dinner...
Lee looked at Theodora. She stared back.
7 [ADV] ADV after v, ADV to n
You can say that you go or come back to a particular point in a conversation to show that you are mentioning or discussing it again.
Can I come back to the question of policing once again?...
Going back to the school, how many staff are there?
8 [ADV] ADV after v, be ADV, oft ADV prep
If something is or comes back, it is fashionable again after it has been unfashionable for some time.
Short skirts are back...
Consensus politics could easily come back into fashion.
9 [ADV] ADV after v, be ADV, oft ADV from n
If someone or something is kept or situated back from a place, they are at a distance away from it.
Keep back from the edge of the platform...
I'm a few miles back from the border...
He started for Dot's bedroom and Myrtle held him back.
10 [ADV] ADV after v
If something is held or tied back, it is held or tied so that it does not hang loosely over something.
The curtains were held back by tassels.
11 [ADV] ADV after v
If you lie or sit back, you move your body backwards into a relaxed sloping or flat position, with your head and body resting on something.
She lay back and stared at the ceiling...
She leaned back in her chair and smiled.
≠ forward
12 [ADV] ADV after v, oft ADV prep
If you look or shout back at someone or something, you turn to look or shout at them when they are behind you.
Nick looked back over his shoulder and then stopped, frowning...
He called back to her.
13 [ADV] ADV with v, ADV prep
You use back in expressions like back in London or back at the house when you are giving an account, to show that you are going to start talking about what happened or was happening in the place you mention.
Meanwhile, back in London, Palace Pictures was collapsing...
Later, back at home, the telephone rang.
14 [ADV] ADV with v, ADV prep, n ADV
If you talk about something that happened back in the past or several years back, you are emphasizing that it happened quite a long time ago.
The story starts back in 1950, when I was five...
He contributed £50m to the project a few years back.
15 [ADV] ADV after v, ADV to n
If you think back to something that happened in the past, you remember it or try to remember it.
I thought back to the time in 1975 when my son was desperately ill...
16 [PHRASE] PHR after v
If someone moves back and forth, they repeatedly move in one direction and then in the opposite direction.
He paced back and forth...
17
to cast your mind back: see mind♦♦♦ back2 /b'æk/ (back backs) OPPOSITE OF FRONT; NOUN AND ADJECTIVE USES
Please look at category 17 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1 [N-COUNT] oft poss N
A person's or animal's back is the part of their body between their head and their legs that is on the opposite side to their chest and stomach.
She turned her back to the audience...
Three of the victims were shot in the back...
2 [N-COUNT] usu sing, oft the N of n
The back of something is the side or part of it that is towards the rear or farthest from the front. The back of something is normally not used or seen as much as the front.
...a room at the back of the shop...
She raised her hands to the back of her neck...
Smooth the mixture with the back of a soup spoon...
≠ front
3 [ADJ] ADJ n
Back is used to refer to the side or part of something that is towards the rear or farthest from the front.
He opened the back door...
Ann could remember sitting in the back seat of their car.
...the path leading to the back garden.
≠ front
4 [N-COUNT] usu sing, with supp
The back of a chair or sofa is the part that you lean against when you sit on it.
There was a neatly folded pink sweater on the back of the chair.
5 [N-COUNT] the N, usu sing
The back of something such as a piece of paper or an envelope is the side which is less important.
Send your answers on the back of a postcard.
≠ front
6 [N-COUNT] the N, usu sing
The back of a book is the part nearest the end, where you can find the index or the notes, for example.
...the index at the back of the book...
≠ front
7 [N-SING] prep the N
You can use back in expressions such as round the back and out the back to refer generally to the area behind a house or other building. (BRIT SPOKEN)
He had chickens and things round the back...
8 [N-UNCOUNT] prep N, oft N of n
You use back in expressions such as out back to refer to the area behind a house or other building. You also use in back to refer to the rear part of something, especially a car or building. (AM)
Dan informed her that he would be out back on the patio cleaning his shoes...
Catlett got behind the wheel and I sat in back...
9 [N-COUNT]
In team games such as football and hockey, a back is a player who is concerned mainly with preventing the other team from scoring goals, rather than scoring goals for their own team.
= defender
≠ forward
10 [N-COUNT]
In American football, a back is a player who stands behind the front line, runs with the ball and attacks rather than defends.
11 [PHRASE] PHR after v
If you say that something was done behind someone's back, you disapprove of it because it was done without them knowing about it, in an unfair or dishonest way.
You eat her food, enjoy her hospitality and then criticize her behind her back.
12 [PHRASE] V inflects, PHR n
If you break the back of a task or problem, you do the most difficult part of what is necessary to complete the task or solve the problem.
It seems at least that we've broken the back of inflation in this country...
13 [PHRASE]
If two or more things are done back to back, one follows immediately after the other without any interruption.
...two half-hour shows, which will be screened back to back.
14 [PHRASE] PHR after v
If you are wearing something back to front, you are wearing it with the back of it at the front of your body. If you do something back to front, you do it the wrong way around, starting with the part that should come last. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use backward)
He wears his baseball cap back to front...
The picture was printed back to front.
= backwards
15 [PHRASE]
If you say that one thing happens on the back of another thing, you mean that it happens after that other thing and in addition to it.
The cuts, if approved, come on the back of a difficult eight years that have seen three London fire stations closed.
16 [PHRASE]
If someone is on the back foot, or if something puts them on the back foot, they feel threatened and act defensively.
From now on Labour will be on the back foot on the subject of welfare.
...another scheme designed purely to put the Scots Nationalists on the back foot.
17 [PHRASE] V inflects
If someone or something puts your back up or gets your back up, they annoy you. (INFORMAL)
Some food labelling practices really get my back up.
= irritate
18
to take a back seat: see seat♦♦♦ back3 /b'æk/ (back backs backing backed) VERB USES
1 [VERB] V onto n, V onto n
If a building backs onto something, the back of it faces in the direction of that thing or touches the edge of that thing.
We live in a ground floor flat which backs onto a busy street...
His garden backs onto a school.
2 [VERB] V n prep/adv, V, also V n
When you back a car or other vehicle somewhere or when it backs somewhere, it moves backwards.
He backed his car out of the drive...
I heard the engines revving as the lorries backed and turned.
= reverse
3 [VERB] V n
If you back a person or a course of action, you support them, for example by voting for them or giving them money.
There is a new witness to back his claim that he is a victim of mistaken identity.
= support
● -backed [COMB in ADJ]
...government-backed loans to Egypt.
4 [VERB] V n to-inf, V n
If you back a particular person, team, or horse in a competition, you predict that they will win, and usually you bet money that they will win.
Roland Nilsson last night backed Sheffield Wednesday to win the UEFA Cup...
It is upsetting to discover that you have backed a loser.
5 [VERB] usu passive, be V-ed by n
If a singer is backed by a band or by other singers, they provide the musical background for the singer.
She was backed by acoustic guitar, bass and congas.
6
see also backing