backstab

[bak-stab]

verb (used with object)

backstabbed, backstabbing 

1. to attempt to discredit (a person) by underhanded means, as innuendo, accusation, or the like.

Other Word Forms

• backstabber noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of backstab¹

First recorded in 1920–25; back ² + stab

Example Sentences

"In our minds nothing is bigger than Liverpool, that's how it is here. It feels like a betrayal, a backstab, like everything that was said before wasn't really true, or at least not as true as was portrayed."

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Yet at every turn, Deborah finds some excuse to backstab Ava, allegedly out of some version of respect, and Ava retaliates by sabotaging herself and her boss.

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In the eight episodes, which exist as a standalone story separate from the film and are now streaming, Eddie and Susie first collaborate, then backstab each other and eventually realize they are better as a team.

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"You don't know who to trust, and when you do trust someone they backstab you," he says.

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Trump exploded: "These people love me. These are my people. I can't backstab the people who support me."

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