backstop
Americannoun
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a wall, wire screen, or the like, serving to prevent a ball from going too far beyond the normal playing area.
-
Baseball. the catcher.
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a person or thing that serves as a support, safeguard, or reinforcement.
There were technicians on board as backstops to the automated controls.
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
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sport a screen or fence to prevent balls leaving the playing area
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a block or catch to prevent excessive backward movement, such as one on the sliding seat of a rowing boat
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of backstop
Explanation
In baseball, a backstop is the wall or fence behind home plate that keeps the ball on the playing field. If the batter hits the ball into the backstop, it's a foul ball. When a softball player is up at bat, the backstop is behind her. Part of the backstop's purpose is to keep players and spectators from getting hurt by foul balls or bats that players toss after hitting the ball. You can also use the word backstop to describe a thing or a person that stands behind something, offering reinforcement or support. The earliest use of the word, in 1819, is from cricket.
Vocabulary lists containing backstop
Baseball in April
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Race to the Sun
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Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen!
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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:
Such fears were reignited by a Wall Street Journal report that Nvidia was in talks to provide a roughly $250 billion backstop for OpenAI that would help finance a data-center project.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
AMD is also in talks to provide a financial backstop for Anthropic’s future data-center leases as well, according to a person with direct knowledge of the talks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
AMD is also in talks to offer a financial backstop for Anthropic’s future data-center leases, according to the Wall Street Journal.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
“I do think the U.S. government will backstop some of these companies in a dire situation, perhaps in exchange for equity,” Wallerstein said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026
Then I wait for all the Renegades to be by the backstop.
From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner
California backstopped the federal subsidies for the lowest-income enrollees — mostly those for households earning up to 150% of the federal poverty level, or $23,940 for individuals and $49,500 for a family of four.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
In the traditional model, developers and external investors—often infrastructure funds and banks—took on the risk of developing and constructing the project, with financing backstopped by the creditworthy tech company’s power purchase agreement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
The Senate proposal would also extend $10 million in coverage to credit unions, which have long shared similar deposit insurance limits as banks, albeit backstopped by separate funds.
From Barron's ● Dec. 18, 2025
Multiple Democratic- and Republican-run states, as well as Native American tribes, declared emergencies and backstopped tens of millions of dollars for food payments, while acknowledging that that still wouldn’t suffice.
From Slate ● Nov. 6, 2025
He backstopped the Kraken’s best run of the season, the only reason they were still in playoff contention.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 20, 2024
Warner’s board told shareholders to reject Paramount’s bid last week, citing concerns that the Ellisons weren’t fully backstopping the financing.
From Barron's ● Dec. 22, 2025
In recent calls with U.S. officials, European officials have stressed that they can only offer Ukraine clear security commitments once they know what role the U.S. would play in backstopping those plans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
How the U.S. government is backstopping the tech boom.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 14, 2025
The Avalanche’s challengers in the Central range from the Stars to the Minnesota Wild, who still have Marc-Andre Fleury backstopping them and a couple of dynamic scorers in Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 3, 2023
With Darrow doing most of the backstopping, and Larson ready to fill in any moment he’s needed, you’re going to keep a five-thousand-dollar catcher on the bench for a pinch hitter!
From Lefty Locke Pitcher-Manager by Standish, Burt L.
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.
