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backfill

[bak-fil]
noun
  1. material used for refilling an excavation.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to refill (an excavation).
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Origin of backfill

First recorded in 1950–55; back2 + fill
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for backfill

backfill

verb
  1. (tr) to refill an excavated trench, esp (in archaeology) at the end of an investigation
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noun
  1. the soil used to do this
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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 backfill

n.

1901 (as backfilling), from back (adj.) + fill (n.). The verb was in use by 1930.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper