backbite

[ bak-bahyt ]

See synonyms for: backbite backbiting backbiter on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),back·bit, back·bit·ten or (Informal) back·bit; back·bit·ing.

to attack the character or reputation of (a person who is not present).

verb (used without object),back·bit, back·bit·ten or (Informal) back·bit; back·bit·ing.

to speak unfavorably or slanderously of a person who is not present.

Origin of backbite

Middle English word dating back to 1125–75; see origin at back¹, bite

Other words for backbite

1	belittle, disparage, deprecate; slander, libel, defame

See synonyms for backbite on Thesaurus.com

Other words from backbite

backbiter, noun

Words Nearby backbite

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use backbite in a sentence

We are all friends; of course we are friends, and we all backbite each other and carry scandal and intrigue.
The Lady of Lynn | Walter Besant
Mrs. Portal talked scandal herself and enjoyed it, but she didn't backbite, which is the difference between good and ill nature.
Poppy | Cynthia Stockley
backbite (Sir Benjamin), nephew of Crabtree, very conceited, and very censorious.
Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol 1 | The Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D.
Even as thou art scandalizing others, thine own nature is being abased, whilst those whom thou dost backbite remain the same.
The Silver Lining | John Roussel
From these though descended our manners are mended,Though still we can grin and backbite!
The Book of Humorous Verse | Various

British Dictionary definitions for backbite

backbite

/ (ˈbækˌbaɪt) /

verb-bites, -biting, -bit, -bitten or -bit

to talk spitefully about (an absent person)

Derived forms of backbite

backbiter, noun

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

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