backfill

[ bak-fil ]

/ ˈbækˌfɪl /

Save This Word!

noun

material used for refilling an excavation.

verb (used with object)

to refill (an excavation).

to make up for a loss or shortfall of supplies or funds: It is illegal to backfill the state budget with federal emergency funds.

to fill (a recently vacated position), often with an internal candidate or temp.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of backfill

First recorded in 1950–55; back² + fill

Words nearby backfill

backer, backer-up, backfall, backfield, backfile, backfill, backfire, backfist, backfit, backflash, backflip

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

How to use backfill in a sentence

They are also now zeroing in on the city’s plan to pursue a bond to backfill funds that had been reserved for infrastructure projects but were instead used to pay off the Ash lease.
All 101 Ash Legal Battles Didn’t End with Settlement Deal|Lisa Halverstadt|August 9, 2022|Voice of San Diego
The leaching behavior of arsenic depends on a lot of different factors, including the binder used in the backfill and the chemical content of the tailings.
There’s a new gold rush in the American West. But is it safe?|Becki Robins / Undark|February 1, 2022|Popular-Science
There are still questions, though, about whether or not arsenic and heavy metals will stay put in the paste backfill material over the long term.
There’s a new gold rush in the American West. But is it safe?|Becki Robins / Undark|February 1, 2022|Popular-Science
States were also given great discretion over how to spend the money, and many have since used it less to assist families than to backfill budget holes, in turn allowing them to maintain tax breaks for the wealthy.
The Cruel Failure of Welfare Reform in the Southwest|by Eli Hager|December 30, 2021|ProPublica

Soak the roots after planting to eliminate air pockets and backfill with soil as needed.
The gardener’s guide to redbuds|Adrian Higgins|March 4, 2021|Washington Post

British Dictionary definitions for backfill

backfill

/ (ˈbækˌfɪl) /

verb

(tr) to refill an excavated trench, esp (in archaeology) at the end of an investigation

noun

the soil used to do this

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