Dictionary.com

Popular Searches

 Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

back of

Idioms  

  1. Also, at the back of; in back of. Behind; also, supporting. For example, The special brands were stored back of the counter, or “Franklin stood back of me in everything I wanted to do” (Eleanor Roosevelt, quoted by Catherine Drinker Bowen, Atlantic Monthly, March 1970). The first term, dating from the late 1600s, was long criticized as an undesirable colloquialism but today is generally considered acceptable. The variants, at the back of, from about 1400, and in back of, from the early 1900s, also can be used both literally and figuratively and could be substituted for back of in either example. Also see back of beyond.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"The aftermath of a drone or a missile being intercepted. I think that's what happened. So that is in the back of your mind."

From BBC

Alarnab spent three months crisscrossing Europe in the back of lorries, aboard trains, on foot and even on a bicycle before he reached the UK.

From Barron's

A medic ran on, helped Moody into a sitting position, gave him a sip of water, a sponge to the back of the neck and a pat on the back before the flanker gingerly got to his feet to cheers from the crowd.

From BBC

"Hopefully, off the back of that, we're now slightly more open-minded as a sport in embracing change and discomfort and challenging conversations, and we won't be in a position where we're sort of hiding from it again."

From BBC

"If they do, they finish the ride then go to the back of their car and spit three times to dispel the bad luck," he says.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.