backbite

[ bak-bahyt ]

/ ˈbækˌbaɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR backbite 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.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

backband, backbar, backbeat, backbencher, backbend, backbite, backbiting, backblocks, backboard, backboard splint, backbone

Origin of backbite

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

SYNONYMS FOR backbite

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

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR backbite ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsback·bit·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for backbiting

Trouble seemed to arise not from big issues like race but from petty gossip and backbiting.
Tupac Shakur’s Race-Killer Prison Pal Talks|Michael Daly|July 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Never mind recent reports of backbiting and fingerpointing within the Perry camp.
Brownback: Rick Perry’s Just Like John McCain in 2008|Lloyd Grove|January 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The Koran warns against “backbiting,” and so does the Torah, which calls it “evil tongue.”
When Gossip Is Good, from Scandals to Relationships|Allison Yarrow|November 22, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Of course, now that the reorganization is official, the speculation stops and the backbiting from disenchanted executives begins.
7 Winners, 9 Losers at the New NBC|Peter Lauria|November 17, 2010|DAILY BEAST

A Republican member looks past the current backbiting to the supposed GOP Majority next year.
Paul Ryan Breaks Rank|John Batchelor|September 26, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Delightful, hospitable Dublin is also a provincial town, given to gossip and backbiting.
Unicorns|James Huneker
There is no parallel to the prying, tattling, backbiting littleness of the place elsewhere in the world.
Venetian Life|William Dean Howells
May we always know how to drive away a backbiting tongue with an angry countenance, as the north wind driveth away rain.
Notes on the Book of Leviticus|C. H. Mackintosh
The north wind driveth away rain, as doth a sad countenance a backbiting tongue.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
He fancied that maldicenza, gossip further spiced with backbiting, would form the chief baggage of his wit.
Aurora the Magnificent|Gertrude Hall

British Dictionary definitions for backbiting

backbite

/ (ˈbækˌbaɪt) /

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

to talk spitefully about (an absent person)

Derived Formsbackbiter, 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

Word Origin and History for backbiting

backbiting

c.1200, bacbitunge, from back (adj. or n.) + biting. Related: back-bite (v.), early 14c.; back-biter (c.1200).