Definitions for backwards
back·wards

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. back, backward, backwards, rearward, rearwards(adverb)

   at or to or toward the back or rear

   "he moved back"; "tripped when he stepped backward"; "she looked rearward out the window of the car"

2. backward, backwards(adverb)

   in a manner or order or direction the reverse of normal

   "it's easy to get the `i' and the `e' backward in words like `seize' and `siege'"; "the child put her jersey on backward"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. backwards(Adverb)

   Toward the back.

   Etymology: . See -s#Etymology 3

2. backwards(Adverb)

   In the opposite direction of usual.

   The clock did not work because the battery was inserted backwards.

   Etymology: . See -s#Etymology 3

3. backwards(Adverb)

   In a manner such that the back precedes the front.

   The tour guide walked backwards while droning on to the bored seniors.

   Etymology: . See -s#Etymology 3

4. backwards(Adjective)

   Oriented toward the back.

   The battleship had three backwards guns at the stern, in addition to the primary complement.

   Etymology: . See -s#Etymology 3

5. backwards(Adjective)

   Reversed.

   The backwards lettering on emergency vehicles makes it possible to read in the rear-view mirror.

   Etymology: . See -s#Etymology 3

6. backwards(Adjective)

   Behind current trends or technology.

   Modern medicine regards the use of leeches as a backwards practice.

   Etymology: . See -s#Etymology 3

7. backwards(Adjective)

   Clumsy, inept, or inefficient.

   He was a very backwards scholar, but he was a marvel on the football field.

   Etymology: . See -s#Etymology 3

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Backwards(adverb)

   with the back in advance or foremost; as, to ride backward

2. Backwards(adverb)

   toward the back; toward the rear; as, to throw the arms backward

3. Backwards(adverb)

   on the back, or with the back downward

4. Backwards(adverb)

   toward, or in, past time or events; ago

5. Backwards(adverb)

   by way of reflection; reflexively

6. Backwards(adverb)

   from a better to a worse state, as from honor to shame, from religion to sin

7. Backwards(adverb)

   in a contrary or reverse manner, way, or direction; contrarily; as, to read backwards

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Backwards

   Backwards is the fourth Red Dwarf novel. It is set on the fictional backwards universe version of Earth. The novel was written by Rob Grant on his own. It follows on directly from the second Grant Naylor novel, Better Than Life, ignoring Last Human. As well as continuing the general conceit from the episode Backwards, it contains minor elements from the episode Dimension Jump, and all of the plot from Gunmen of the Apocalypse. An audiobook of Backwards was also produced, read by the author.

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. backwards

   A technical word made use of in the British service to express the retrograde movement of troops from line into column, and vice versa. Also a word of command in the U. S. service, to cause a man, or body of men, to march to the rear without changing front.

British National Corpus

1. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'backwards' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2814

2. Adverbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'backwards' in Adverbs Frequency: #306

Anagrams for backwards »

1. drawbacks

How to pronounce backwards?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say backwards in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of backwards in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of backwards in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of backwards in a Sentence

1. Sergio Carbonara:

   The biggest risk is that this would give control to a narrow group of majority shareholders, this would be a step backwards in Italian governance which has seen very positive developments in the last two years.

2. Birama Sissoko:

   There is a stock of ivory that circulates. If we can get hold of the ivory, we can work backwards until we get hold of the poachers.

3. Bob Katter:

   Mr Katter hit out at both the Liberal National and Labor parties. You destroyed the timber industry, the tobacco industry, the fishing industry, the dairy industry and half the sugar mills,he said. We can't farm here because of the Great Barrier Reef. Out west we can't shoot pigs because guns are bad. You can't remove trees, can't use the water out west, can't use the land or improve it. We're not standing still. We're not going forward, so we must be going backwards.

4. Zachary Rubin:

   We don't want to start notifying people who had no risk of exposure and cause undue anxiety, we ended up working backwards and that unfortunately was the cause of some delay.

5. Jeannie Suk:

   The schools, upon receipt of the Dear Colleague letter and looking at its requirements, weren't completely sure of exactly how to comply, and so in many cases they did more than they necessarily needed to do, they kind of in a sense over-complied. Now, they bent over backwards, and then that's when they put in place -- kind of in a hurry -- these procedures that now don't respect fair process.

Images & Illustrations of backwards

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