layback

American  

[ley-bak] / ˈleɪˌbæk /

noun

1. Figure Skating. a spin, usually performed by a woman, in which the upper body is arched backward and the free leg lifted and turned out from the hip.

2. Rowing. the backward lean of an oarsman's body at the end of a stroke.

3. Mountain Climbing. a method of entering a vertical crack by leaning back and pulling on one side of the crack while pushing against the other side with the feet.

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layback British  

/ ˈleɪˌbæk /

noun

1. mountaineering a technique for climbing cracks by pulling on one side of the crack with the hands and pressing on the other with the feet

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Example Sentences

I photographed Aelan Vaast, the sister of 2024 Olympic surfing gold medallist Kauli Vaast, as she performed a layback hack on the final section of the wave.

From BBC • Dec. 25, 2025

You start on a large block in the main crack and layback climb up the crack about 15 feet, all the way to the top where there are lots of granite protrusions to grab onto.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 12, 2019

The beauty with which he executes the layback makes you wonder why we ever gendered a spin to begin with.

From Slate • Feb. 15, 2018

Also, Kim did not receive the highest level for her step sequence or her layback spin.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 21, 2014

In fact the British boys still rowed with the long layback that English prep schools and universities had taught for generations.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown