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definitions

roorback

or roor·bach

[ roo r-bak ]
/ ˈrʊərˌbæk /

noun

a false and more or less damaging report circulated for political effect, usually about a candidate seeking an office.

Nearby words

  1. rooming house,
  2. rooming-in,
  3. roommate,
  4. roomy,
  5. rooney,
  6. roose,
  7. roosevelt,
  8. roosevelt corollary,
  9. roosevelt dam,
  10. roosevelt island

Origin of roorback

1844, Americanism; after a fictitious Baron von Roorback, in whose travelogue occurred an account of an incident damaging to the character of James K. Polk
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for roorback

roorback

/ (ˈrʊəˌbæk) /

noun

US a false or distorted report or account, used to obtain political advantage

Word Origin for roorback

C19: after Baron von Roorback, invented author of an imaginary Tour through the Western and Southern States (1844), which contained a passage defaming James K. Polk
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012