backstop
Americannoun
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a wall, wire screen, or the like, serving to prevent a ball from going too far beyond the normal playing area.
-
Baseball. the catcher.
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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)
verb (used with object)
noun
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sport a screen or fence to prevent balls leaving the playing area
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a block or catch to prevent excessive backward movement, such as one on the sliding seat of a rowing boat
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of backstop
Explanation
In baseball, a backstop is the wall or fence behind home plate that keeps the ball on the playing field. If the batter hits the ball into the backstop, it's a foul ball. When a softball player is up at bat, the backstop is behind her. Part of the backstop's purpose is to keep players and spectators from getting hurt by foul balls or bats that players toss after hitting the ball. You can also use the word backstop to describe a thing or a person that stands behind something, offering reinforcement or support. The earliest use of the word, in 1819, is from cricket.
Vocabulary lists containing backstop
Baseball in April
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Race to the Sun
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Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen!
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Nvidia shares fell 5% after the Journal first reported the discussions of the $250 billion backstop.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Under the outline now being discussed, Nvidia would provide a financial backstop for the first phase, totaling roughly five gigawatts of power, and then decide later whether or how to finance the remainder.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
The city’s negotiating team said L.A.’s political leaders committed the city roughly a decade ago to serve as a financial backstop for the Games, as part of the contract that made L.A. the host city.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
He added that Nvidia has the option to backstop up to 25% of potential deals.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
The batters in line automatically turned their eyes to the backstop, where the ball should be — but it wasn’t there.
From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli
Vegas’s two regular starters, including the one that backstopped them during their championship run in 2023, were mired in the worst seasons of their careers in the desert.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
The Senate proposal would also extend $10 million in coverage to credit unions, which have long shared similar deposit insurance limits as banks, albeit backstopped by separate funds.
From Barron's ● Dec. 18, 2025
Paramount’s deal requires $41 billion in equity, backstopped by Larry Ellison’s family and RedBird Capital Partners, according to a regulatory filing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2025
Multiple Democratic- and Republican-run states, as well as Native American tribes, declared emergencies and backstopped tens of millions of dollars for food payments, while acknowledging that that still wouldn’t suffice.
From Slate ● Nov. 6, 2025
He backstopped the Kraken’s best run of the season, the only reason they were still in playoff contention.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 20, 2024
But backstopping markets removes a key risk and encourages more borrowing—especially for the hedge funds that now own trillions of dollars of U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Warner’s board told shareholders to reject Paramount’s bid last week, citing concerns that the Ellisons weren’t fully backstopping the financing.
From Barron's ● Dec. 22, 2025
How the U.S. government is backstopping the tech boom.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 14, 2025
The companies told Congress this year they plan to roughly quadruple the list price of the shots, to about $130, because they are entering the private market and the government is no longer backstopping purchases.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 2, 2023
"I'll let that do most of the backstopping."
From Rival Pitchers of Oakdale by Morgan Scott
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.
