backlog

American  

[bak-lawg, -log] / ˈbækˌlɔg, -ˌlɒg /

noun

• backlogs
  plural

1. a reserve or accumulation, as of stock, work, or business.

   a backlog of business orders.

   Synonyms:

   reservoir, cache, fund, store, stock, supply

2. a large log at the back of a hearth to keep up a fire.

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verb (used with object)

backlogged, backlogging

1. to hold in reserve, as for future handling or repair.

2. to enter and acknowledge (an order) for future shipment.

verb (used without object)

backlogged, backlogging

1. to accumulate in a backlog.

   Orders are starting to backlog faster than we can process them.

backlog British  

/ ˈbækˌlɒɡ /

noun

1. an accumulation of uncompleted work, unsold stock, etc, to be dealt with

2. a large log at the back of a fireplace

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• backlogs
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of backlog

First recorded in 1675–85; back ¹ + log ¹

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Explanation

When you have extra work to do that keeps accumulating, you have a backlog. Sometimes people stay late at their jobs to take care of a backlog. A backlog of tasks might slow down an ordinary day at an office or store, or require workers to come in on the weekend to catch up. In 1680, a backlog meant "a large log placed at the back of a fireplace," and by the 1880s it came to also mean "something stored for later use." It wasn't until the early 20th century that a backlog most often referred to "extra unfulfilled orders."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

backlog backlogs backlogged backlogging

The combination of an extensive backlog of maintenance, Raac issues and problems with cladding are central to the issues with infrastructure.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

Adding to the backlog are prolific requesters who flood the department with complex and time-consuming inquiries, all of which have to undergo several levels of review to avoid the release of private data, they argue.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026

Total estimated contract value stood at $270.7 billion at the end of the quarter, including a backlog of $220.3 billion and estimated potential contract value of $50.4 billion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

“Demand still exceeds supply, the commercial backlog is enormous, and returns are finally showing up in earnings and overall revenue,” he wrote.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026

She also had to sort through the unit’s massive backlog of paperwork.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

A separate state system for updating registration information wasn’t processing changes for several weeks, leading to more backlogs.

From Salon ● Nov. 3, 2026

Fundamental support for those stocks is broadening out, with manufacturing backlogs ramping up across machinery, fabricated metals and other categories, and manufacturing data showing a buildup in orders, strategists said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

While a volatile environment discourages new participants from entering the market, large aircraft delivery backlogs will make new supply difficult.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

The proposals triggered an outcry across many parts of the criminal justice world, with many opponents saying that eroding the 800-year-old right to trial by jury would not solve the backlogs.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

For the huge fireplace, huge lengths of logs, for the backlogs, were cut, which required three persons to roll in place.

From Blazing The Way True Stories, Songs and Sketches of Puget Sound by Emily Inez Denny

It was backlogged, so they would fly them in-country to wherever they wanted to go.

From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026

The U.S. needs to build more power plants, poles and wires to meet rising electricity demand, but projects and supply chains are backlogged in every direction.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

Pending approval by the House and signing by President Donald Trump, a reopened government would pave the way for a flood of backlogged economic data and the resumption of normal airline operations, among other functions.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 11, 2025

As part of the layoffs, in San Francisco, the regional branch of the department’s Office for Civil Rights — already backlogged with investigations into school-related discrimination — is closing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2025

If everyone who came before the court for a competency hearing brought out a bunch of irrelevant witnesses and made long speeches, the court calendar would be backlogged for decades.

From Eastern Standard Tribe by Cory Doctorow

Interviews documented in the police report suggest that a key cause of the backlogging at the lab is a 2009 US Supreme Court decision known as Melendez-Diaz v.

From Nature ● Oct. 10, 2012

But in two fair-sized cities, Portland, Ore., and New Orleans, district attorneys claim that they have been able to get stiffer sentences without backlogging the court docket by cutting down on plea bargaining.

From Time Magazine Archive

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Related Words

• inventory
• stockpile

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