back door

British  

noun

1. a door at the rear or side of a building

2. 1. a means of entry to a job, position, etc, that is secret, underhand, or obtained through influence

   2. ( as modifier )

      a backdoor way of making firms pay more

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back door Idioms  

1. An entry at the rear of a building, as in Deliveries are supposed to be made at the back door only . [First half of 1500s]

2. A clandestine, unauthorized, or illegal way of operating. For example, Salesmen are constantly trying to push their products by offering special gifts through the back door . This term alludes to the fact that the back door cannot be seen from the front. [Late 1500s]

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Example Sentences

I hid my net behind a big lilac bush in Grandma’s front yard, walked around the house, and came in through the back door.

From Literature

I gathered all the skeins and tangles and bits of gold that I could find, wrapped them in a rag, and ran out the back door.

From Literature

Rudra Bahadur Kami returned to Nepal through a back door of Kathmandu airport in a battered coffin after working for more than a decade in Saudi Arabia to feed his family back home.

From Barron's

I could already hear the brook calling to me through the back door screen.

From Literature

Nicole came out the back door of the house as he was stretching the last cord.

From Literature

Related Words

• side door