backflip

[bak-flip]

noun

1. a backward somersault.

2. a dive executed by somersaulting backward.

3. Informal.,  a complete reversal in attitude or policy.

   Some committee members did sudden backflips, urging spending cuts instead of expanded programs.

verb (used without object)

backflipped, backflipping 

1. to perform a backflip.

   She backflipped off a bucking horse.

Word History and Origins

Origin of backflip¹

First recorded in 1930–35; back ² + flip ¹

Example Sentences

I feel like doing jumping jacks or a backflip or participating in an ice cream–eating contest.

Read more on Literature

If robots are a scam, someone should tell Boston Dynamics, because its Atlas robot just did a backflip.

Read more on MarketWatch

“Roz, I order you to do a backflip!”

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“If you do something amazing, like a f—ing backflip, and nobody’s filmed it, I can’t ever really have proof that I did it,” Eilish reasons.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Apparently, we’re doing a backflip.

Read more on Los Angeles Times