backdoor

[bak-dawr]

noun

1. a door at the rear of a house, building, etc..

   Fans were waiting by the backdoor of the theater, hoping to catch a glimpse of the band.

2. a secret, furtive, or illicit manner or means.

   The business has a backdoor through which the board of directors can access slush fund money.

3. an indirect manner or means.

   Marriage counseling was a kind of backdoor into therapy, where I finally faced my dysfunctional relationship with my mother.

4. Computers.,  a secret access point or undocumented vulnerability in a software program, hardware component, or digital network, sometimes intentionally maintained as for remote developer access, but also sometimes created or exploited for unauthorized access by hackers.

   If half of all devices have disclosed backdoors, cybersecurity experts must assume that the number of devices affected by undisclosed or malicious backdoors is much higher.

5. Slang: Usually Vulgar.,  anus.

adjective

1. secret; furtive; illicit.

   Special interests pushed through a backdoor contract before the bidding period had expired.

2. indirect.

   The immigration reform bill included backdoor amnesty for employed undocumented residents.

3. Computers.,  relating to, using, or noting an indirect access point into a network, computer, or program.

   Hackers used a Trojan horse to establish backdoor access to the mainframe.

4. Slang: Vulgar.,  anal.

Word History and Origins

Origin of backdoor¹

First recorded in 1520–30; back ¹ ( def. ) + door

Example Sentences

"As we have said many times before, we have never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products or services and we never will."

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We both have Parkinson’s Disease, and he spent much of a recent 45-minute phone call pushing me to battle the incurable illness the way he once battled a certain backdoor slider.

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The couple sued the city a few months later, accusing them of unconstitutional actions and “backdoor machinations” in trying to preserve a house that doesn’t qualify as a historic cultural monument.

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In other words, it would provide a backdoor for privatizing Social Security.

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He did, after all, warn in “The Heartaches Have Just Started” that “when you see the backdoor swinging, you’ll know I’ve run out of hope.”

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Related Words

• classified 
• covert 
• furtive 
• hush-hush 
• mysterious 
• obscure 
• private 
• secluded 
• undercover 
• underground 
• undisclosed 
• unknown 
• unpublished