backlog
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
-
to hold in reserve, as for future handling or repair.
-
to enter and acknowledge (an order) for future shipment.
verb (used without object)
noun
-
an accumulation of uncompleted work, unsold stock, etc, to be dealt with
-
a large log at the back of a fireplace
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of backlog
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."
Vocabulary lists containing backlog
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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.
See Examples For:
Chief Executive Peter Arduini said GE HealthCare posted record orders and backlog during the recent quarter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Rheinmetall booked 11.37 billion euros in orders during the quarter, lifting its total backlog above 80 billion euros.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
The agency estimates that up to a third, or 444,000 of the more than 1.4 million asylum cases in its backlog, could be affected by the rule.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
Brian Schwartz and Idan Gutkind at Oppenheimer said that while the company’s cloud backlog continues to show growth, guidance risk is also increasing, as SAP currently assumes de-escalation in Iran.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
By 1997, the repair backlog for the national parks had reached $6 billion.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
Manufacturers face yearslong backlogs for gas turbines, essentially big jet engines that generate power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Since the middle of 2025, four big AI spenders—Alphabet unit Google, Microsoft, Amazon.com and Oracle—have collectively more than doubled their revenue backlogs, adding more than $1 trillion to the combined figure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
According to BCA Research, hyperscaler cloud backlogs — orders received but not yet fulfilled — have grown by roughly $750 billion over just the past two quarters.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
The Ministry of Justice said the government inherited "a failing tagging system with record backlogs".
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
He had a big, open fireplace with backlogs and andirons.
From Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Stewart, Elinore Pruitt
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
This is not normal; immigration court is deeply backlogged and most cases of asylum—one of the most complex forms of U.S. immigration—were being assigned well into 2029 and 2030.
From Slate ● Mar. 27, 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
Last month, the program served more than 300 children, working with immigration judges at courts in Los Angeles and Orange County to move cases through the backlogged system.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 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 Doctorow, Cory
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
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.
