backhouse

[ bak-hous ]

/ ˈbækˌhaʊs /

Save This Word!

noun, plural back·hous·es

[bak-hou-ziz]. /ˈbækˌhaʊ zɪz/.

a building behind the main building, often serving a subsidiary purpose.

a privy; outhouse.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of backhouse

First recorded in 1550–60; back¹ + house

Words nearby backhouse

backhand, backhanded, backhander, backhaul, backhoe, backhouse, backie, back in circulation, backing, backing dog, backing light

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

How to use backhouse in a sentence

Lunched with Backhouse in a delicious garden under a spreading fig tree; then rode back.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
It is said by Backhouse, that his parties killed thirty, and captured five.
The History of Tasmania , Volume II (of 2)|John West
John Backhouse took no step, and for nine months nothing was heard of his daughter.
Robert Elsmere|Mrs. Humphry Ward
Mrs. Thornburgh, however, could not apply herself to the case of Mary Backhouse.
Robert Elsmere|Mrs. Humphry Ward

Backhouse observed one especially, whose features had a Jewish cast, and reminded him of the popular pictures of Abraham!
The History of Tasmania , Volume II (of 2)|John West

British Dictionary definitions for backhouse

backhouse

/ (ˈbækˌhaʊs) /

noun

Canadian another word for outhouse

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