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.
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
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
Lyon goalkeeper Christiane Endler should have collected Mariona Caldentey's free-kick as it bobbled towards her, but the presence of Blackstenius put her off and she fumbled the ball backwards.
From BBC • Apr. 26, 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
The young mouse moved steadily backwards away from the talons.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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.
