backstop

American  

[bak-stop] / ˈbækˌstɒp /

noun

1. a wall, wire screen, or the like, serving to prevent a ball from going too far beyond the normal playing area.

2. Baseball. the catcher.

3. a person or thing that serves as a support, safeguard, or reinforcement.

   There were technicians on board as backstops to the automated controls.

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verb (used without object)

backstopped, backstopping

1. to act as a backstop.

verb (used with object)

backstopped, backstopping

1. to act as a backstop to.

   The government agreed to backstop companies that invested in oil exploration.

backstop British  

/ ˈbækˌstɒp /

noun

1. sport a screen or fence to prevent balls leaving the playing area

2. a block or catch to prevent excessive backward movement, such as one on the sliding seat of a rowing boat

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verb

1. to provide with backing or support

Other Word Forms

• backstopper noun

Etymology

Origin of backstop

First recorded in 1810–20; back ¹ + stop

Example Sentences

Such perverse incentives flow from the government’s vast mortgage backstop.

From The Wall Street Journal

The European Central Bank said Saturday it will expand access to its euro liquidity backstop to central banks worldwide, in a move aimed at boosting the single currency's global role.

From Barron's

Discovery board, Paramount says it will agree to fully backstop an exchange offer that relieves WBD of its contractual bondholder obligations.

From The Wall Street Journal

During the first week of November, OpenAI’s Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar made comments at a Wall Street Journal conference that appeared to suggest the company was looking to the federal government as a backstop.

From The Wall Street Journal

France and others have spent months trying to nudge Washington to provide a backstop to security guarantees they hope to offer Ukraine if the war ends.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bar
• barbed wire
• barricade
• block
• dike
• net
• rail
• railing
• roadblock
• wall