backup
Americannoun
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a person or thing that supports or reinforces another.
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a musician or singer or group of musicians or singers accompanying a soloist.
a singer with a three-man backup that plays cello, bass, and guitar.
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an overflow or accumulation due to stoppage, malfunctioning, etc..
a sewage backup; a backup of cars at the tollbooth.
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a person, plan, device, etc., kept in reserve to serve as a substitute, if needed.
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Computers.
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a copy or duplicate version, especially of a file, program, or entire computer system, retained for use in the event that the original is in some way rendered unusable.
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a procedure to follow in such an event.
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Bowling. a ball that curves in a direction corresponding to the bowling hand of the bowler.
adjective
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(of a person, plan, device, etc.) held in reserve as a substitute if needed.
a backup driver; a backup generator.
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performing a secondary or supporting function.
A drummer and guitarist are the singer's backup musicians.
Usage
See login.
Etymology
Origin of backup
1775–85, noun use of verb phrase back up
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 report said that domestic Chinese GPUs would likely move from being “strategic backups” to “core pillars” of China’s AI industry over the next three to five years.
It was a backup plan for a chaotic system, not an example of bureaucratic overreach.
From MarketWatch
Some have proposed either requiring or encouraging data centers to stop using it when there is a risk of blackouts, either by powering down or switching to backup electricity supplies.
Even when he transferred to Ole Miss in April, he seemed sure to spend the year on the sideline as a backup.
But the Griffins, loaded with backups from last season and members of a good junior varsity team, are 8-6 going into an early Sunset League showdown with 16-1 Corona del Mar on Monday.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
