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:
Meanwhile, Nvidia is in talks with OpenAI to provide a roughly $250 billion backstop to help finance the construction of a giant data-center project in Ohio, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Nvidia’s AI-driven wealth is increasingly acting as a financial backstop for the boom it is at the center of.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
AMD is also in talks to offer a financial backstop for Anthropic’s future data-center leases, according to the Wall Street Journal.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
“I do think the U.S. government will backstop some of these companies in a dire situation, perhaps in exchange for equity,” Wallerstein said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026
Moments later, Peshawa slithered through the Fifteens’ defenses and fired a shot that clanged into the chain-link fence of the backstop.
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
Google has backstopped financing for projects involving Hut 8, Cipher Mining and TeraWulf, which are former crypto-mining companies that are now developing data centers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 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
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
In recent calls with U.S. officials, European officials have stressed that they can only offer Ukraine clear security commitments once they know what role the U.S. would play in backstopping those plans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 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 Scott, Morgan
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.
