back end
noun
the rear part of something.
back end
1 American
[bak end]
/ ˈbæk ˈɛnd /
back-end,
noun
-
the rear part of something.
I didn’t think my stage debut would entail playing the back end of a bull!
My eyes followed the back end of the car, watching it slowly creep up the road and out of sight.
-
the later part of a process or span of time.
The team has a chance to turn their season around, but they face a difficult back end of the schedule.
-
Computers. the parts of a computer program, website, system, network, etc., that the user does not see or directly interact with.
The user information has all been updated in the back end.
Our engineers can refurbish existing backends internally, improving structure and performance without altering the external behavior of the code.
-
the part of an organization or process that operates in the background or out of the public view.
Tell us about the back end of your business, like your accounting and data processing systems.
-
British. the last few months of the year.
The journal was published at the back end of last year.
back-end
2
American
[bak-end]
/ ˈbækˌɛnd /
Or
backend
adjective
-
Computers. being or relating to those parts of a computer program, website, system, network, etc., that the user does not see or directly interact with.
Managed website hosting is for those who do not want to bother with a lot of the back-end stuff like updating apps and enabling automatic backups.
We’re seeking an experienced back-end developer to help complete the development of our mobile education platform.
-
being or relating to the part of an organization that operates in the background or out of the public view.
The library is hoping to streamline many of their back-end administrative processes.
The back-end legal and financial responsibilities of running a business are significant.
-
happening or incurred at or near the end of a process or span of time.
We do not ever charge hidden back-end transaction fees.
The young pitcher is shaping up to be a great middle or back-end reliever.
back end
British
noun
adjective
Etymology
Origin of back end1
First recorded in 1590–1600
Origin of back-end2
First recorded in 1970–75
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.
See Examples For:
Regardless, look for the Chargers to be bland, bland, bland as they evaluate the back end of their roster and decide who to keep and who to cut.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
While Southampton felt the full force of the EFL's disciplinary powers at the back end of last season, Spygate is far from over with the future of head coach Tonda Eckert still uncertain.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
It has struggled so badly to modernize the chatbot that, after years of trying, it still had to turn to Google to provide the technology back end.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
“If bond volatility rises with rising back end rates, we would expect the first meaningful correction in equity prices since markets bottomed at the end of March.”
From Barron's ● May 19, 2026
The back end of the wagon slowly sinks.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Briley said he used AI to find efficiencies while working on the back-end of the company’s help website, and the technology allowed him to do more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026
“When we were starting our businesses, none of us had any knowledge of the back-end stuff,” Ziskin told me.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2026
The war could be reflected in Boeing’s earnings conference call commentary about deliveries, which could be back-end loaded.
From Barron's ● Apr. 21, 2026
Most private student lenders use the same back-end technology to communicate information about their loans between schools, servicers and other stakeholders.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 31, 2026
It minds me," he said, "of the carriers at Adam Strang's funeral, at Gosforth, last back-end gone twelvemonth.
From A Son of Hagar A Romance of Our Time by Sir Hall Caine
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.
