backstay

¹ American  

[bak-stey] / ˈbækˌsteɪ /

noun

1. Machinery. a supporting or checking piece in a mechanism.

2. 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.

3. a strip of leather at the back of a shoe used for reinforcement and sometimes to connect the quarters.

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backstay ² American  

[bak-stey] / ˈbækˌsteɪ /

noun

1. 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.

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backstay British  

/ ˈbækˌsteɪ /

noun

1. nautical a stay leading aft from the upper part of a mast to the deck or stern

2. machinery a supporting piece or arresting part

3. anything that supports or strengthens the back of something, such as leather covering the back seam of a shoe

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Etymology

Origin of backstay¹

First recorded in 1860–65; back ¹ + stay ²

Origin of backstay²

First recorded in 1620–30; back ¹ + stay ³

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

backstay

The 55-foot yacht Yendys pulled out shortly before the race started with a broken backstay -- a line that supports the mast, reducing the fleet to 128.

From Barron's ● Dec. 26, 2025

A backstay floated dangling from it, stout rawhide rope, and I used this for lashing mast and keel together.

From "The Odyssey" by Homer

This so excited me that I could not wait to descend in the usual leisurely fashion, but, gripping the royal backstay, came sliding to the deck like a monkey.

From The Log of a Sea-Waif Being Recollections of the First Four Years of My Sea Life by Bullen, Frank T.

Her starboard backstay had been shot away, her topmast was wounded, though it still stood.

From The Rival Crusoes by Kingston, William Henry Giles

In a moment his jacket and shoes were off, and down he slid like lightning by the topmast weather backstay, and, leaping into the water, swam towards the spot where Jack had fallen.

From The Three Midshipmen by Prout, Victor