back story

British

noun

the events which take place before, and which help to bring about, the events portrayed in a film

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Even without the full back story, I knew its true provenance was my mom’s purse.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026

Only later was a back story of justification added.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026

Wellington’s back story is another Boston tangled tale External link.

From Barron's • May 1, 2026

The former MP also has a compelling back story.

From BBC • Jan. 12, 2026

On Thursday, Franco Molina threw in another piece of the Anglo-Argentine back story.

From BBC • Nov. 23, 2025

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023