backstay

¹ American  

[bak-stay] / 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-stay] / 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

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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

Above them the sails of the foremast stood pale and lofty, and there was the rhythmic jar of a block against a backstay.

From Those Who Smiled And Eleven Other Stories by Perceval Gibbon

I recovered myself, trembling and greatly agitated by the noise and the movement coming together, without the least hint having been given me, and grasping a backstay, waited, not knowing what was to happen next.

From The Frozen Pirate by W. Clark (William Clark) Russell

I slid down a backstay to the deck.

From Taking Tales Instructive and Entertaining Reading by William Henry Giles Kingston

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