backdate

American  

[bak-dayt] / ˈbækˌdeɪt /

verb (used with object)

• backdates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• backdated,
  past participle,  past
• backdating
  present participle

1. to date earlier than the actual date; predate; antedate.

   Backdate the letter so he'll think I wrote it last week.

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backdate British  

/ ˌbækˈdeɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to make effective from an earlier date

   the pay rise was backdated to August

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• backdating
  present
• backdated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• backdate
  simple
• backdates
  simple
• have backdated
  perfect
• has backdated
  perfect
• am backdating
  progressive
• are backdating
  progressive
• is backdating
  progressive
• have been backdating
  perfect progressive
• has been backdating
  perfect progressive

Past

• backdated
  simple
• had backdated
  perfect
• was backdating
  progressive
• were backdating
  progressive
• had been backdating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will backdate
  simple
• will have backdated
  perfect
• will be backdating
  progressive
• will have been backdating
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of backdate

An Americanism dating back to 1945–50; back ² + date ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

backdate backdated backdating

Teams can backdate IL moves by up to three days.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026

The state, meanwhile, wants to backdate residence to Jan. 1.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 5, 2026

Last November their members, including guards and ticket office staff, voted to accept a pay offer including a backdate pay rise of 5% for 2022-23 as well as job security guarantees.

From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2024

They accepted the deal in September after the company agreed to backdate the increase by an extra month.

From Reuters ● Dec. 23, 2022

V. misdate, antedate, postdate, backdate, overdate†; anticipate; take no note of time, lose track of time; anachronize†.

From Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases by Peter Mark Roget

Could a penalty be backdated to this season when finally awarded?

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

However, the ban has been backdated to start when she was initially suspended on 2 June 2025.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

EagleBank backdated the client’s loan payments to make it appear as though they were on time, the settlement says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

The government previously announced a £100,000 annual cap on donations from British citizens living overseas backdated to 25 March.

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

It felt like I was getting backdated karma for being a good person.

From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon

That simple comparison made backdating far more difficult to conceal, allowing investors to see whether grant dates had been chosen on days with low share prices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026

The Ethics Commission has accused Lee and Englander of backdating the checks to Aug. 4 — before they were interviewed by the FBI.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2025

By early 2015, months before Wired published its article, he was locked in disputes with the Australian tax office, which accused him of backdating documents and conducting “sham transactions,” court records show.

From New York Times ● May 21, 2024

In 1936, he opened the Jules Maes Saloon at 5919 Airport Way S., slyly backdating its founding to 1888.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 7, 2023

Government sources said there would be no movement on this year's pay award but ministers are considering backdating the 2023-24 pay rise to January.

From BBC ● Jan. 16, 2023

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