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.

---

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

---

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)

---

Other Word Forms

• backwardly adverb
• backwardness noun
• unbackward adjective

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

Like a traffic jam, even a small blockage in a single sea lane can snarl backward long after the wreckage clears.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026

All of those things were happening, but we have taken a few steps backward.

From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026

“I think we are just going to move backward before we go forward,” Katelyn Jetelina, an epidemiologist and author of the newsletter Your Local Epidemiologist, told Salon.

From Salon • Apr. 8, 2026

Thanks to Hubble's high resolution, scientists were able to trace the fragments backward to their original state as a single object.

From Science Daily • Mar. 21, 2026

Her shirt was also on backward, but now wasn’t the time to point that out.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Related Words

• bashful
• hesitant
• shy