behindhand
Americanadverb
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late; tardy.
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behind in progress; backward.
They were never behindhand in following artistic fads.
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in debt or arrears.
adjective
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remiss in fulfilling an obligation
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in debt; in arrears
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delayed in development; backward
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late; behind time
Etymology
Origin of behindhand
First recorded in 1520–30; behind + hand; by analogy with earlier beforehand ( def. )
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.
Considering that this Fantaisie' was ordered, and paid for, and eaten more than a year ago, I realize that I am behindhand with it.
From Time Magazine Archive
Clare, who, also, was in better health, was not behindhand in energy or industry.
From The Life and Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Volume I (of 2) by Florence A. Thomas Marshall
Spain need not be too discouraged by being behindhand.
From Heroic Spain by Elizabeth Boyle O'Reilly
Suppose a crew are backward as oarsmen and also behindhand in condition.
From Boating by W. B. Woodgate
It's just because I have been talking so long that I am behindhand.
From San-Cravate; or, The Messengers; Little Streams by Charles Paul de Kock
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.
