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backstay
1[ bak-stey ]
/ ˈbækˌsteɪ /
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noun
Machinery. a supporting or checking piece in a mechanism.
Building Trades. an anchored tension member, as a cable, permanently or temporarily supporting a compression member, as a tower or pole, subject to a pull above its base from the opposite direction.
a strip of leather at the back of a shoe used for reinforcement and sometimes to connect the quarters.
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Words nearby backstay
backstab, back-stabbing, back staff, backstage, backstairs, backstay, backstitch, backstop, backstory, back straight, backstrap loom
Other definitions for backstay (2 of 2)
backstay2
[ bak-stey ]
/ ˈbækˌsteɪ /
noun
Nautical. any of various shrouds forming part of a vessel's standing rigging and leading aft from masts above a lower mast to the sides or stern of the vessel in order to reinforce the masts against forward pull.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use backstay in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for backstay
backstay
/ (ˈbækˌsteɪ) /
noun
nautical a stay leading aft from the upper part of a mast to the deck or stern
machinery a supporting piece or arresting part
anything that supports or strengthens the back of something, such as leather covering the back seam of a shoe
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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