backstitch
Americannoun
verb (used with or without object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have backstitchedperfect
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has backstitchedperfect 3rd person singular
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are backstitchingprogressive
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have been backstitchingperfect progressive
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am backstitchingprogressive 1st person singular
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is backstitchingprogressive 3rd person singular
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backstitchingparticiple
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has been backstitchingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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backstitchessingular 3rd person
Past
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had backstitchedperfect
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was backstitchingprogressive singular
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had been backstitchingperfect progressive
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were backstitchingprogressive plural
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backstitchedsimple
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backstitchedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of backstitch
First recorded in 1605–15; back 2 + stitch ( def. )
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 attendees laughed, but after the joke faded, I noticed my mother looking around thoughtfully, working to understand the new backstitch in the family thread.
From New York Times • Jan. 3, 2020
To join the seam in the back— Insert one thickness between the other two ends, and backstitch closely.
From Make Your Own Hats by Martin, Gene Allen
An infant's slips quilted with a single tiny backstitch in a regular design of interlaced squares, stars, and rounds.
From Two Centuries of Costume in America, Volume 1 (1620-1820) by Earle, Alice Morse
To sew with backstitches; as, to backstitch a seam.
From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (2nd 100 Pages) by Webster, Noah
So Nanny learned to "overhand," And "hem" so fine and neat, To "backstitch," "run," and many a join That she could scarce repeat.
From Mother Truth's Melodies Common Sense For Children by Miller, Mrs. E. P.
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.
