back|ache /bæ ke I k/ (backaches ) N‑VAR Backache is a dull pain in your back.
back|bench /bæ kbentʃ/ ADJ [ADJ n] A backbench MP is a Member of Parliament who is not a minister and who does not hold an official position in his or her political party. [BRIT , AUSTRALIAN ] □ Some backbench MPs have threatened to rebel.
back|bencher /bæ kbe ntʃə r / (backbenchers ) N‑COUNT A backbencher is a Member of Parliament who is not a minister and who does not hold an official position in his or her political party. [BRIT ] □ …a senior Conservative backbencher.
back|benches /bæ kbe ntʃ I z/ N‑PLURAL The backbenches are the seats in the British House of Commons where backbenchers sit. The Members of Parliament who sit on the backbenches are also referred to as the backbenches . [BRIT ] □ This issue is creating unrest on the backbenches.
back|bit|ing /bæ kba I t I ŋ/ N‑UNCOUNT If you accuse someone of backbiting , you mean that they say unpleasant or unkind things about someone who is not present, especially in order to stop them doing well at work. [DISAPPROVAL ]
back|bone /bæ kboʊn/ (backbones )
1 N‑COUNT Your backbone is the column of small linked bones down the middle of your back.
2 N‑SING [usu with poss] The backbone of an organization or system is the part of it that gives it its main strength. □ [+ of ] Small businesses are the economic backbone of this country.
ba ck-breaking also backbreaking ADJ [usu ADJ n] Back-breaking work involves a lot of hard physical effort.
ba ck burn|er also backburner N‑SING If you put an issue on the back burner , you leave it in order to deal with it later because you now consider it to have become less urgent or important. □ Many speculated that the U.S. would put the peace process on the back burner.
ba ck ca ta|logue (back catalogues ) N‑COUNT [oft poss N ] A musical performer's back catalogue is the music which they recorded and released in the past rather than their latest recordings.
back|cloth /bæ kklɒθ, [AM ] -klɔːθ/ (backcloths )
1 N‑COUNT A backcloth is a large piece of cloth, often with scenery or buildings painted on it, that is hung at the back of a stage while a play is being performed. [BRIT ] in AM, use backdrop 2 N‑SING The backcloth of an event is the general situation in which it happens. [BRIT , JOURNALISM , LITERARY ] □ [+ of ] …the promise of tax cuts against the backcloth of a public-spending deficit.
ba ck co py (back copies ) N‑COUNT A back copy of a magazine or newspaper is the same as a back issue .
ba ck coun|try also backcountry N‑SING The back country is an area that is a long way from any city and has very few people living in it. [AM ] □ They have moved deep into the back country.
back|date /bæ kde I t/ (backdates , backdating , backdated ) also back-date VERB If a document or an arrangement is backdated , it is valid from a date before the date when it is completed or signed. □ [be V -ed + to ] The contract that was signed on Thursday morning was backdated to March 11. □ [V n + to ] Anyone who has overpaid tax will be able to backdate their claim to last April. [Also V n]
back|door /bæ kdɔː r / also back door
1 ADJ [ADJ n] You can use backdoor to describe an action or process if you disapprove of it because you think it has been done in a secret, indirect, or dishonest way. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ He did the backdoor deals that allowed the government to get its budget through Parliament on time. □ He brushed aside talk of greedy MPs voting themselves a backdoor pay rise.
2 N‑SING If you say that someone is doing something through or by the backdoor , you disapprove of them because they are doing it in a secret, indirect, or dishonest way. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ Dentists claim the Government is privatising dentistry through the back door.
back|drop /bæ kdrɒp/ (backdrops )
1 N‑COUNT A backdrop is a large piece of cloth, often with scenery painted on it, that is hung at the back of a stage while a play is being performed.
2 N‑COUNT The backdrop to an object or a scene is what you see behind it. □ Leeds Castle will provide a dramatic backdrop to a fireworks display next Saturday.
3 N‑COUNT The backdrop to an event is the general situation in which it happens. □ The election will take place against a backdrop of increasing instability.
back|er /bæ kə r / (backers ) N‑COUNT A backer is someone who helps or supports a project, organization, or person, often by giving or lending money. □ I was looking for a backer to assist me in the attempted buy-out.
back|fire /bæ kfa I ə r , [AM ] -fa I r/ (backfires , backfiring , backfired )
1 VERB If a plan or project backfires , it has the opposite result to the one that was intended. □ [V ] The President's tactics could backfire. □ [V + on/against ] It all backfired on me!
2 VERB When a motor vehicle or its engine backfires , it produces an explosion in the exhaust pipe. □ [V ] The car backfired.
back|gam|mon /bæ kgæmən/ N‑UNCOUNT Backgammon is a game for two people, played on a board marked with long triangles. Each player has 15 wooden or plastic discs. The players throw dice and move the discs around the board.
back|ground ◆◇◇ /bæ kgraʊnd/ (backgrounds )
1 N‑COUNT [usu sing] Your background is the kind of family you come from and the kind of education you have had. It can also refer to such things as your social and racial origins, your financial status, or the type of work experience that you have. □ She came from a working-class background. □ His background was in engineering.