backstop

[bak-stop]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR backstop ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

Baseball. the catcher.

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), back·stopped, back·stop·ping.

to act as a backstop.

verb (used with object), back·stopped, back·stop·ping.

to act as a backstop to: The government agreed to backstop companies that invested in oil exploration.

Origin of backstop

First recorded in 1810–20; back¹ + stop

Related formsback·stop·per, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for backstop

bar, wall, rail, dike, roadblock, barricade, railing, net, block, shield, stop, palisade, cyclone, guard, defense, stockade, rampart, hedge, balustrade, paling

Examples from the Web for backstop

Contemporary Examples of backstop

On the other, you risk ballooning one into the backstop in front of 50,000 people.
Viral Video of the Day: Chrissy Teigen's Drunken Dodger Pitch
Jack Holmes
August 7, 2014
After the corporate split, the paper will no longer have blockbuster movies to backstop it.
New York Post Looks Thinner After News Corporation Split
David Freedlander
July 18, 2013
It could serve as a backstop for Mitt, bringing him over the top at the last possible moment.
The GOP’s Chaotic Primary Calendar Makes Early Nomination Clinch Tough
John Avlon
February 17, 2012
And Perry thinks TARP was a total mistake—along with all subsequent efforts to backstop or stimulate the economy.
Perry’s Entitlement Problem
Andrew Romano
August 12, 2011

Historical Examples of backstop

Since the warning he had used the horizon as a backstop for all his shots.
Frank of Freedom Hill
Samuel A. Derieux
Joe called out to the veteran catcher, who was acting as his backstop.
Baseball Joe, Captain of the Team
Lester Chadwick
"Pete is going to be my backstop on our nine," explained Tommy Flanders.
The Rover Boys in the Land of Luck
Edward Stratemeyer
It facilitates the game if the end of each court may be a wall or fence, and thus make sort of a backstop behind the goal.
Games for the Playground, Home, School and Gymnasium
Jessie H. Bancroft
Still, it was unusual, and the lieutenant who served as combination secretary and backstop for oratory quaked as he listened.
Prologue to an Analogue
Leigh Richmond

British Dictionary definitions for backstop

backstop

noun

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

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

verb -stops, -stopping or -stopped (tr)

US 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

Word Origin and History for backstop

1819, in cricket, from back (adj.) + stop. In U.S. baseball, from 1889, "fence behind the catcher;" figurative extension to "catcher on a baseball team" is from 1890. The verb is attested from 1956 in the sense of "support." Related: Backstopped; backstopping.