backwards
Britishadverb
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towards the rear
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with the back foremost
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in the reverse of usual order or direction
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to or towards the past
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into a worse state
the patient was slipping backwards
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towards the point of origin
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informal to make a special effort, esp in order to please
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informal to understand completely
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.
“You need to be walking forward and backwards for half an hour,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times
"They weren't just booed off at full-time. The fans waited in the stadium to continue to boo them. They've gone backwards."
From Barron's
The group chants tongue-twisters and numerical sequences, forward and backwards, in unison, guided by his rhythm.
"It felt like a step backwards and it was much harder than I anticipated going back to a lifestyle I thought I'd left behind - it felt like it was never going to end."
From BBC
Another Australia batter going backwards and battling to justify his recall.
From BBC
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.
