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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.

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

"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

verb

  1. to provide with backing or support

"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

Other Word Forms

  • backstopper noun

Etymology

Origin of backstop

First recorded in 1810–20; back 1 + stop

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.