backdoor

American

[bak-dawr] / ˈbækˈdɔr /

noun

a door at the rear of a house, building, etc..

Fans were waiting by the backdoor of the theater, hoping to catch a glimpse of the band.
a secret, furtive, or illicit manner or means.

The business has a backdoor through which the board of directors can access slush fund money.
an indirect manner or means.

Marriage counseling was a kind of backdoor into therapy, where I finally faced my dysfunctional relationship with my mother.
Computers. a secret access point or undocumented vulnerability in a software program, hardware component, or digital network, sometimes intentionally maintained as for remote developer access, but also sometimes created or exploited for unauthorized access by hackers.

If half of all devices have disclosed backdoors, cybersecurity experts must assume that the number of devices affected by undisclosed or malicious backdoors is much higher.
Slang: Usually Vulgar. anus.

adjective

secret; furtive; illicit.

Special interests pushed through a backdoor contract before the bidding period had expired.
indirect.

The immigration reform bill included backdoor amnesty for employed undocumented residents.
Computers. relating to, using, or noting an indirect access point into a network, computer, or program.

Hackers used a Trojan horse to establish backdoor access to the mainframe.
Slang: Vulgar. anal.

Etymology

Origin of backdoor

First recorded in 1520–30; back ¹ ( def. ) + door

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.

“If it’s really important they’ll leave a message,” said Pahouja, who also runs a Facebook group where more than 26,000 dentists swap tips for maximizing practice profits and using backdoor Roth IRAs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

It was designed to prevent civil lawsuits from becoming backdoor appeals of criminal judgments.

From Slate • Jan. 8, 2026

She went on to raise a series of concerns including "inadequate benefit levels" and "backdoor taxation for social care support".

From BBC • Dec. 30, 2025

Accordingly, the backdoor enabled him to access anyone’s Google account and private information,” the lawsuit says.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 20, 2025

The black hen left through the backdoor, and scratched abstractedly in the yard, where woodshavings blew about like blond curls.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023