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Synonyms

backing

American  
[bak-ing] / ˈbæk ɪŋ /

noun

  1. aid or support of any kind.

    Synonyms:
    encouragement, patronage, sanction, sponsorship, endorsement, assistance, help

  2. supporters or backers collectively.

  3. something that forms the back or is placed at or attached to the back of anything to support, strengthen, or protect it.

  4. Theater. a curtain or flat placed behind a window, entrance, or other opening in a stage set to conceal the offstage area.

  5. material for backing a joist or rafter.

  6. a bevel given to the outer and upper edge of a hip rafter.

  7. the musical accompaniment for a soloist; backup.

backing British  
/ ˈbækɪŋ /

noun

  1. support given to a person, cause, or enterprise

  2. a body of supporters

  3. something that forms, protects, supports, or strengthens the back of something

  4. theatre a scenic cloth or flat placed behind a window, door, etc, in a set to mask the offstage space

  5. musical accompaniment, esp for a pop singer

  6. the support in gold or precious metals for a country's issue of money in notes

  7. meteorol an anticlockwise change in wind direction

  8. a passageway running behind a row of terraced houses

"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

Etymology

Origin of backing

First recorded in 1590–1600; back 1 + -ing 1

Vocabulary lists containing backing

Analyzing Arguments: From Reading to Writing (Chapter 3)

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A new set of BP shareholders is backing a resolution for more disclosure on its increased oil-and-gas investment, a shift from renewables.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

Last year, state officials told The Times the state “isn’t backing down” on its plans.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

The decision was made by Rosenior alongside co‑sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, with the backing of influential ownership figures including Behdad Eghbali.

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026

The reform has the backing of governors from the Andean provinces, who would have greater latitude to green-light mining projects.

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

In California he fell among literary people and, as he still had a little of the fifty thousand left, in a short time he was backing a review of the Arts.

From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.