backyard

[bak-yahrd]

noun

1. the portion of a lot or building site behind a house, structure, or the like, sometimes fenced, walled, etc.

2. a familiar or nearby area; neighborhood.

Word History and Origins

Origin of backyard¹

First recorded in 1650–60; back ¹ + yard ²

Example Sentences

If residents couldn’t make it to these, there were predetermined “public temporary refuge areas” within each neighborhood, such as street intersections and homes with large cleared backyards, that provide some increased chance of survival.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“I’m very sad because I live in Altadena and so this is in my backyard and I just hate to see it leave,” Fitzgerald-Cardello said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Footage showed sheets of rain pouring from roofs during the peak of the cyclone, while huge trees toppled into backyards and roads.

Read more on Barron's

The person had a backyard flock consisting of mixed domestic poultry.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

We tracked down the best design gifts for even the trickiest people on your list, from your mixologist brother to a backyard ornithologist.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• courtyard 
• garden 
• grass 
• lawn 
• patio 
• terrace 
• yard