backstitch

[bak-stich]

noun

stitching or a stitch in which the thread is doubled back on the preceding stitch.

verb (used with or without object)

to sew by backstitch.

Origin of backstitch

First recorded in 1605–15; back² + stitch

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for backstitch

Historical Examples of backstitch

Backstitch across the bottom with a slanting line of stitches.
Clothing and Health
Helen Kinne
Here each little diamond is worked in simple outline stitch, and each square outlined with backstitch.
Needlework Economies
Various
His machine was a short-thread model that made both the running stitch and the backstitch.
The Invention of the Sewing Machine
Grace Rogers Cooper
This is one of the few machines producing a backstitch or half backstitch to realize any commercial success.
The Invention of the Sewing Machine
Grace Rogers Cooper
Lap ends one-fourth inch and backstitch closely at each edge of flap.
Make Your Own Hats
Gene Allen Martin

British Dictionary definitions for backstitch

backstitch

noun

a strong sewing stitch made by starting the next stitch at the middle or beginning of the preceding one

verb

to sew using this stitch

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012