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Webster 1913 Edition

Backwards

{

Back′ward

,

Back′wards

, }
adv.
[
Back
, adv. +
-ward
.]
1.
With the back in advance or foremost;
as, to ride
backward
.
2.
Toward the back; toward the rear;
as, to throw the arms
backward
.
3.
On the back, or with the back downward.
Thou wilt fall
backward
.
Shakespeare
4.
Toward, or in, past time or events; ago.
Some reigns
backward
.
Locke.
5.
By way of reflection; reflexively.
Sir J. Davies.
6.
From a better to a worse state, as from honor to shame, from religion to sin.
The work went
backward
.
Dryden.
7.
In a contrary or reverse manner, way, or direction; contrarily;
as, to read
backwards
.
We might have . . . beat them
backward
home.
Shakespeare

Webster 1828 Edition

Backwards

BACK'WARDS

, adv.[back and ward. See Ward.] With the back in advance; as, to move backward.
2. Toward the back; as, to throw the arms backward; to move backwards and forwards.
3. On the back, or with the back downwards; as, to fall backward.
4. Toward past times or events; as to look backward on the history of man.
5. By way of reflection; reflexively.
6. From a better to a worse state; as, public affairs go backward.
7. In time past; as,let us look some ages backward.
8. Perversely; from a wrong end.
I never yet saw man but she would spell him backward.
9. Towards the beginning; in an order contrary to the natural order; as, to read backward.
10.
In a scriptural sense, to go or turn backward, is to rebel, apostatize, or relapse into sin, or idolatry. Is.i.
11.
Contrarily; in a contrary manner.
To be driven or turned backward, is to be defeated, or disappointed. Ps.xl.turn judgment backward, is to pervert justice and laws. Is.lix.

Definition 2024

backwards

backwards

English

Alternative forms

Adjective

backwards ‎(comparative more backwards, superlative most backwards)

  1. Oriented toward the back.
    The battleship had three backwards guns at the stern, in addition to the primary complement.
  2. Reversed.
    The backwards lettering on emergency vehicles makes it possible to read in the rear-view mirror.
  3. (derogatory) Behind current trends or technology.
    Modern medicine regards the use of leeches as a backwards practice.
  4. Clumsy, inept, or inefficient.
    He was a very backwards scholar, but he was a marvel on the football field.

Usage notes

  • In senses 3 and 4, and often in American English, backward is preferred.

Synonyms

Translations

Adverb

backwards ‎(comparative more backwards, superlative most backwards)

  1. Toward the back.
    The cabinet toppled over backwards.
    Life is lived forwards, but understood backwards.—Søren Kierkegaard
  2. In the opposite direction to usual.
    The clock did not work because the battery was inserted backwards.
  3. In a manner such that the back precedes the front.
    The tour guide walked backwards while droning on to the bored seniors.

Usage notes

  • In written American English, backward is more common.
  • Strictly speaking, backwards is an adverb and backward is an adjective in British English; in American English, the rule may be reversed. This follows the same usage for similar words ending in -ward/-wards and -way/-ways. See also -wise.
    It was a backward move vs He moved backwards
  • Also, even though an adverb may be used in adjectival combinations (eg a quickly moving car), only the -ward forms are commonly used in adjectival combinations, e.g.:
    A backward-facing statue. / A backward facing statue.

Synonyms

Related terms

Translations

Anagrams

Etymology

From backward +‎ -s. See also -s ‎(“used in the formation of certain adverbs: backwards, downwards, inwards, etc.”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbæk.wə(ɹ)dz/

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