backlist

[bak-list]

noun

the books that a publisher has kept in print over several years, as distinguished from newly issued titles.

adjective

Also back·list·ed. placed or maintained on a backlist.

verb (used with object)

to place on a backlist.

Origin of backlist

First recorded in 1945–50; back² + list¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for backlist

Contemporary Examples of backlist

The motto of this column is that the backlist is for weenies.
Do I Have to Read Committed?
William Boot
January 30, 2010

British Dictionary definitions for backlist

backlist

noun

a publisher's previously published books that are still availableSee also front list, mid-list

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 backlist

1946, in publishing, from back (adj.) + list (n.). As a verb, "to put on the back list," from 1983. Related: Backlisted.