backstop
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.
to act as a backstop.
to act as a backstop to: The government agreed to backstop companies that invested in oil exploration.
Origin of backstop
1Other words from backstop
- backstopper, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use backstop in a sentence
The county is supposed to serve as a backstop for patients without insurance or a medical provider.
Frequently Asked (Yet Largely Unanswerable) Questions on San Diego’s Vaccine Situation | MacKenzie Elmer | January 18, 2021 | Voice of San DiegoThe move was met with a rare rebuke from the Fed and widespread disagreement from Democrats, who say the facilities are an important backstop and could have had more reach.
Debate over Fed’s powers prove stumbling block to stimulus talks | Rachel Siegel | December 18, 2020 | Washington PostIt was the first of four-straight Gold Glove nods for Johnson, helping him establish a well-deserved reputation as one of the game’s premier defensive backstops.
Charles Johnson Was Damn Good Behind (And At) The Plate | Neil Paine (neil.paine@fivethirtyeight.com) | December 2, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightCorporate debt markets would have collapsed without the federal government’s backstop, with severe knock-on effects for our financial system and economy.
Why it would be a huge mistake to allow Big Tech firms to acquire banks | jakemeth | November 26, 2020 | FortuneSo, we offered a program — God forbid that we had another terrorism attack — that would be there to respond to it immediately with a government backstop.
Many Businesses Thought They Were Insured for a Pandemic. They Weren’t. (Ep. 437) | Stephen J. Dubner | October 29, 2020 | Freakonomics
British Dictionary definitions for backstop
/ (ˈbækˌstɒp) /
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
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
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