backup
a person or thing that supports or reinforces another.
a musician or singer or group of musicians or singers accompanying a soloist: a singer with a three-man backup that plays cello, bass, and guitar.
an overflow or accumulation due to stoppage, malfunctioning, etc.: a sewage backup; a backup of cars at the tollbooth.
a person, plan, device, etc., kept in reserve to serve as a substitute, if needed.
Computers.
a copy or duplicate version, especially of a file, program, or entire computer system, retained for use in the event that the original is in some way rendered unusable.
a procedure to follow in such an event.
Bowling. a ball that curves in a direction corresponding to the bowling hand of the bowler.
(of a person, plan, device, etc.) held in reserve as a substitute if needed: a backup driver; a backup generator.
performing a secondary or supporting function: A drummer and guitarist are the singer's backup musicians.
Origin of backup
1usage note For backup
Words that may be confused with backup
- back up, backup
Words Nearby backup
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use backup in a sentence
It typically takes days to get results back, and backups at labs can drag the process out for a week or two.
New coronavirus tests promise to be faster, cheaper and easier | Jack J. Lee | August 31, 2020 | Science NewsThey have to be pretty confident they have someone to replace Mayer if they didn’t even get him to stay as a backup.
TikTok’s most vocal defender is now its new interim CEO | Naomi Xu Elegant | August 27, 2020 | FortuneUsing new technologies and backup power sources, Winn said SDG&E has also taken steps to reduce the number of customers who lose power this year.
At the start of the Covid-19 outbreak, when my insurance wouldn’t allow me to get a backup supply of the insulin I need to live, I received eight vials in the mail from my friend Rena.
How high prices for diabetes care amplify health inequities | Annalisa van den Bergh | July 15, 2020 | QuartzAs a backup, researchers should also consider using a less tested freeze-drying technique known as lyophilization.
Scientists want to build a Noah’s Ark for the human microbiome | Carolyn Beans | June 11, 2020 | Science News
Sometimes, they had a backup aim if their main goal fell through as the night dragged on.
The Craziest Date Night for Single Jews, Where Mistletoe Is Ditched for Shots | Emily Shire | December 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn early October, Health Republic allowed me to submit a “grievance claim” which I filed, along with a pile of backup documents.
My Insurance Company Killed Me, Despite Obamacare | Malcolm MacDougall | November 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAt 12:02 p.m., Wilson called in his location and asked the dispatcher for backup.
backup dancers materialize, sparking a torrent of eye-catching choreography.
The Making of Kiesza: From Navy Sharpshooter to Beauty Queen to Pop Diva | Marlow Stern | October 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTShe retreated into the lobby, but only to call for backup and an ambulance.
Manhunt for a Cop-Hating Pennsylvania ‘Survivalist’ | Michael Daly | September 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTShe could swap out a dead bot for a backup in five minutes flat, which is all that crowd-control would permit.
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom | Cory DoctorowMy cochlea struck twelve noon and a HUD appeared with my weekly backup reminder.
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom | Cory DoctorowMy next-most-recent backup was three years old, dating from the completion of my second symphony.
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom | Cory DoctorowI stopped in front of the backup terminal in the gateway between Liberty Square and Fantasyland.
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom | Cory DoctorowI had prepared a written synopsis of the events since her last backup for her, and she read it over the next couple days.
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom | Cory Doctorow
British Dictionary definitions for back up
(tr) to support or assist
(intr) cricket (of a nonstriking batsman) to move down the wicket in readiness for a run as a ball is bowled
(of water) to accumulate
(of traffic) to become jammed behind an accident or other obstruction
computing to make a copy of (a data file), esp for storage in another place as a security copy
printing to print the second side of (a sheet)
(intr, usually foll by on) Australian to repeat an action immediately
a support or reinforcement
a reserve or substitute
(as modifier): backup troops
US and Canadian
musical accompaniment, esp for a pop singer
(as modifier): backup singer
the overflow from a blocked drain or pipe
computing a file or set of files copied for security purposes
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 Idioms and Phrases with backup
Move or drive a vehicle backward, as in He told her to back up into the garage. [First half of 1800s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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