Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

backshift

/ˈbækʃɪft/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables
back-shift
IPA
/ˈbækʃɪft/
23
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The changing of the tense of a verb from present to past in reported speech.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A function on a stochastic process whose value on any random variable is the preceding random variable in the process.

Countable; Uncountable

verb

To change the tense of a verb from present to past in reported speech.

Transitive verb

Etymology

From back + shift.

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈbækʃɪft/
  • British English: /ˈbækʃɪft/

Usage

Inflected Forms

backshifts (plural) backshifts (present, singular) backshifting (participle, present) backshifted (participle, past) backshifted (past)

Questions

How do you pronounce backshift?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈbækʃɪft/.
What does backshift mean?
The changing of the tense of a verb from present to past in reported speech.
Where does backshift come from?
From back + shift.

How to pronounce backshift

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “backshift”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈbækʃɪft/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “backshift”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “backshift” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.