backward

American  

[bak-werd] / ˈbæk wərd /

adverb

1. toward the back or rear.

   Antonyms:

   forward

2. with the back foremost.

3. in the reverse of the usual or right way.

   counting backward from 100.

4. toward the past.

   to look backward over one's earlier mistakes.

5. toward a less advanced state; retrogressively.

   Since the overthrow of the president the country has moved steadily backward.

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adjective

1. directed toward the back or past.

2. reversed; returning.

   a backward movement;

   a backward journey.

3. behind in time or progress; late; slow.

   a backward learner;

   a backward country.

   Synonyms:

   underdeveloped, retarded, tardy

4. bashful or hesitant; shy.

   a backward lover.

   Synonyms:

   retiring, timid, disinclined

idioms

1. backward and forward, thoroughly: Also backwards and forwards.

   He knew his lesson backward and forward.

backward British  

/ ˈbækwəd /

adjective

1. (usually prenominal) directed towards the rear

   a backward glance

2. retarded in physical, material, or intellectual development

   backward countries

   a backward child

3. 1. of or relating to the past; conservative or reactionary

   2. ( in combination )

      backward-looking

4. reluctant or bashful

   a backward lover

5. chess (of a pawn) behind neighbouring pawns and unable to be supported by them

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adverb

1. a variant of backwards

backward More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing backward

• bend over backward
• fall over (backwards)
• know like a book (backwards and forwards)

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Other Word Forms

• backwardness
  noun
• unbackward
  adjective
• backwardly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of backward

First recorded in 1250–1300, backward is from the Middle English word bakwarde. See back ¹, -ward

Explanation

Backward means "toward the rear" or "behind." It’s the opposite of forward. If you stop peddling your bike on a hill, you’ll start rolling backward. If you count backward from 10 to 1, you probably just hypnotized someone. When you go backward, you move in reverse. You might give a backward glance at a person as you walk away. Backward also means "slow," or "behind the times," as in a backward government that doesn't allow girls to go to school. If you wear your clothes backward, then you’re dressing like Kris Kross, the hip-hop duo from the 90s. The Old English roots are on bæc, "back," and -weard, "toward." Backwards (with an “s”) is primarily British usage.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

backward

For example, Arizona and Hawaii do not move their clocks forward or backward.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

Salt and Curran added 47 off 26 balls for the fifth wicket until Salt sliced the left-arm spin of Axar Patel to backward point.

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026

"Unlike phenomena we observe around us, at the microscopic level most fundamental laws of physics see forward and backward movement in time as physically possible," said Los Alamos National Laboratory physicist Luis Pedro García-Pintos.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 3, 2026

I think that gets the First Amendment totally backward.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

I barely had time to fall backward and go into a tuck before I hit the side of a nearly vertical incline and began to tumble.

From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen

Related Words

• bashful
• hesitant
• shy