back

/ˈbak/

Middle English, from Old English bæc; akin to Old High German bah back, Old Norse bak

noun

  1. the rear part of the human body especially from the neck to the end of the spine

  2. the body considered as the wearer of clothes

  3. capacity for labor, effort, or endurance

riding on the back of an elephant

adverb

  1. to, toward, or at the rear

  2. in or into the past : backward in time; also : ago

  3. to or at an angle off the vertical

asked the crowd to move back

looking back on her youth

adjective

  1. being at or in the back

  2. distant from a central or main area

  3. articulated at or toward the back of the oral passage : formed deep within the mouth

back door

back roads