backwards
Britishadverb
-
towards the rear
-
with the back foremost
-
in the reverse of usual order or direction
-
to or towards the past
-
into a worse state
the patient was slipping backwards
-
towards the point of origin
-
informal to make a special effort, esp in order to please
-
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.
Bank earnings are as much an art as a science, and to estimate loan-loss provisions a firm has to come up with a worst-case scenario and work backwards from there.
From MarketWatch • May 5, 2026
When Villa played those riskier passes, Spurs' attackers immediately turned and pressed backwards, converging around the player in possession and increasing the chances of a turnover.
From BBC • May 4, 2026
The new CEO faced a stinging rebuke from shareholders last week at the annual general meeting where they largely rejected two board proposals as a step backwards on transparency, particularly concerning climate strategy.
From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026
“If you dove off a skyscraper backwards, that’s what it felt like for five seconds,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
As we saw in Chapter 2, this is nonsense, in that we have to read history both forwards and backwards.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
