back
/bæk/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: 6.04 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Not current.
adj
Situated away from the main or most frequented areas.
adj
adj
Pronounced with the highest part of the body of the tongue toward the back of the mouth, near the soft palate (most often describing a vowel).
Example Sentences
- "Go in the back door of the house."
- "Nothing was too small to receive attention, if a supervising eye could suggest improvements likely to conduce to the common welfare. Mr. Gordon Burnage, for instance, personally visited dust-bins and back premises, accompanied by a sort of village bailiff, going his round like a commanding officer doing billets."
- "He was on vacation, but now he’s back."
- "The office fell into chaos when you left, but now order is back."
- "I’d like to find a back issue of that magazine."
- "They took a back road."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg-der.? Proto-Germanic *baką Proto-West Germanic *bak Old English bæc Middle English bak English back From Middle English bak, from Old English bæc, from Proto-West Germanic *bak, from Proto-Germanic *baką, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- (“to bend”). The adverb represents an aphetic form of aback. Compare Middle Low German bak (“back”), from Old Saxon bak, and West Frisian bekling (“chair back”), Old High German bah, Swedish and Norwegian bak. Cognate with German Bache (“sow [adult female hog]”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /bæk/
- British English: /bæk/
Usage
Inflected Forms
more back (comparative)
most back (superlative)
further back (comparative)
farther back (comparative)
furthest back (superlative)
farthest back (superlative)
backs (plural)
backs (present, singular)
backing (participle, present)
backed (participle, past)
backed (past)