back1 adverbback2 nounback3 verbback4 adjective
backback1 /bæk/ ●●● S1 W1 adverb 
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Can you call me back later?
- Carol yelled back, "If it's so easy, you come and have a go!''
- Do you think Ron and his wife will get back together?
- He looked back over his shoulder.
- He stepped back and fell.
- I'll check back with you sometime next week.
- I'll have to get back to you on that.
- I left a message, but I haven't heard anything back.
- I should be back in time for dinner.
- I stepped back to let them pass.
- I was making $15 an hour back at the hospital.
- I woke up at 4 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep.
- If a starfish loses a leg, it grows back.
- If Jamie rings, tell him I'll call him back.
- It's time I got back to work.
- It was a beautiful day, so I decided to walk back to the office.
- Michelle looked back at him over her shoulder and smiled.
- Play the tape back for me, okay?
- She left home in 1995 and hasn't been back since.
- That's mine! Give it back!
- Gradually, the children came trickling back.
- He'd tried to study it back in the Store.
- He was too wet and cold to think about going back out into the rain.
- I lay back like a king lion and let her romp.
- It helps when I have the option to go back to defense.
- It took me a year and a half to come back.
- Some time during the afternoon they decided not to go back but to stay overnight.
- Then she turns on her heel, comes back, and demands to know why N J stood her up.
Longman Language Activatormoving backwards
moving or looking towards a place behind you: · He looked back over his shoulder.· I stepped back to let them pass.
also backward moving back and away from the direction in which you are facing: · Sarah fell backwards in the snow.· Can you skate backward?· Stepping backwards, Harry trod on the foot of the woman behind him.backwards and forwards: · She gently rocked the baby backwards and forwards.
to move backwards to walk backwards in a particular direction, especially in order to leave a room or building: · Hardy backed slowly toward the door.· Simms quietly backed out of the office, his face red with embarrassment.· When she was sure the baby was asleep, she backed softly through the bedroom door.
to walk slowly backwards, especially to get further away from someone or to avoid a dangerous situation: · "Are you crazy?'' she cried, backing away.back away from: · We slowly backed away from the rattlesnake.
especially American to move backwards a little, for example in order to give someone enough space to move: · Back up a bit so that everyone can see.· Can you back up a few steps so that I can open the door?
to walk backwards or away from the direction you were walking before, especially in order to avoid an embarrassing or unpleasant situation: · Jim saw me approaching and quickly retreated down a side street.retreat from/into/to etc: · "You haven't heard the last of this!'' shouted Spencer, retreating up the stairs.
to take one step or a few steps backwards: · Myers quickly stepped back into the house when he caught sight of us.· As the lights of a car approached he stepped back into the shadows.
to suddenly move part or all of your body backwards, away from something that is unpleasant or frightening: · She looked at the dead body and recoiled.recoil from: · She recoiled from his touch.
to move quickly and suddenly backwards in order to get away from someone, especially because you are upset, angry, or frightened: · When Helen took his arm he tried to pull away.· I tried to kiss her but she pulled away.
to make a vehicle go backwards especially British to drive a car or other vehicle backwards: · You'll have to reverse to let them pass.· He slowly reversed the van into the parking place.reverse out of/into/round etc: · As I approached the house a car reversed out of the driveway and sped off down the road.
especially American to drive a car or other vehicle backwards: · The car stopped and then began to back up.· Back the truck up a little more, will you?back up something: · Cindi backed up the car and stopped in front of the door.
to drive a car or other vehicle backwards, especially in order to get into or out of a space: back out/in/into: · I wouldn't park there -- it's going to be very difficult to back out again.back something out/in/into: · Morris carefully backed the truck into the shed.
the back part of something the part that is furthest from the front: · Someone crashed into the back of my car.· You can leave your bike around the back.· They walked past the back of the cottage.· Did you know you have paint on the back of your skirt?· "How do I turn the computer on?'' "There's a switch at the back.''
formal the back part of a building or vehicle: · Access to the kitchen is from the rear.· There are more seats at the rear of the theater.
the back of something flat · I wrote down her address on the back of an envelope.· He was trying to scrape the wax off with the back of a knife.on the back · If you look on the back, you'll see the artist's signature.· "I can't see the wine list.'' "It's on the back.''
· Write your name here and on the other side put your phone number.
the back side of something - used especially in written instructions or descriptions: · Sign the check on the reverse side.· The reverse side of the coin has the president's head on it.
at the back of something British /in the back especially American · I couldn't see very well because we were seated in the back.· There's something rotting at the back of the refrigerator.· I found your passport -- it was at the back of the drawer.
at the back of a building, room, or vehicle - used especially in instructions and written descriptions: · Passengers for Birmingham should sit at the rear of the train.· Brenda sat at the reception desk at the rear of the main hall.· A VW's engine is at the rear of the vehicle.
at the back of a car or other vehicle: · Just throw all your bags in the back.· Don't let the dog sit in the front -- he has to go in the back.· She couldn't see out of the rear window because of all the junk in the back of the truck.
also rear formal at the back of something, for example a building or car: · The burglars broke into the house through the back door.· The rear brakes are completely worn out.· You can put your suitcase on the back seat of the car.· They made their way toward the rear exit.· The rear carriage of the train is reserved for non-smokers.
to start talking about something again also return to especially spoken to start talking about something again, after a period when you stopped talking about it: · I'll go back to your question in a few minutes.· But getting back to what the real estate agent said, do you think we could get more for the house if we had it painted first?· I think we can return to this argument later.
when something that has been decided cannot be changed a decision that is final cannot be changed, especially because it has been made officially by someone in authority: · They thought carefully before making a final commitment to buy.final approval/decision etc: · The judges' decision is final.· The officials have final authority when making decisions.and that's final! spoken (=used to say that you will not change your mind about something, and do not want to hear any more about it): · You're not going out, and that's final! have the final say (=be the person who makes the final decision): · My boss has approved the project, but it's the Chief Executive who has the final say.
formal a decision or choice which is irrevocable cannot be changed after it has been made: · Her decision was immediate and irrevocable.· I posted the letter, then realized that what I had done was irrevocable, and that I couldn't change my mind now.
use this to say that what you have decided or done is permanent and cannot be changed: · You've committed your time and money to the project now -- there's no going back.· It had started as a casual affair but they both knew that now there was no going back.
to have developed from something use this to say that something that exists now developed from something else that existed before: · My idea for the film came from an article I read about West Virginia coal miners.· The name 'terrier' comes from the Latin word 'terra' meaning the earth.
if a film, story, idea, plan etc is based on something else, that is where its basic ideas or facts come from: · The film is based on a popular Bengali novel.· Overtime pay will be based on the number of hours you work each week.· Your test questions will be based on the work you have done in the past year.
to have developed in a particular place or from a particular situation: · How did the tradition of wearing costumes on Hallowe'en originate?originate in: · Welfare is a program that originated in the 1930s to help widows.· Buddhism originated in India and came to China in the first century A.D.
to have developed from something that happened or existed a long time ago: · Many phrases in the language go back to early religious writings.· Our friendship goes back to our freshman year in college.· Jo just refuses to get into a car -- it all goes back to when she had that accident.
if something has its origins in something that existed a long time ago, that is where it comes from and is the reason for it being as it is: · Modern medicine often has its origins in ancient ways of doing things.· Vaudeville had its origins in French street culture.
if something such as a belief or attitude has its roots in conditions that existed earlier, it developed from them and is still influenced by them: · Many music historians believe that jazz has its roots in blues music.· Economic policy in the US has its roots in the free market system.
to have developed from something else, especially by a long or complicated process: · Much of the English language is derived from Latin and Greek.· About a quarter of the drugs in prescription medicines today are derived from plants.
to have one main idea, belief etc that something else develops from: · The constitution in this country is not written. It's founded on tradition and precedent.· White resistance to Civil Rights was founded on age-old fears of democracy.
to develop from something small or simple by becoming bigger or more complicated: · Socialist ideals grew out of an earlier idea that all men are created equal.· The skill of writing grew out of a wish to put speech into a permanent form.
to come from an original idea or form and change into something bigger, more important, or more advanced: · The whole basis of her novel evolved from a chance meeting she had with an old friend.· Within years, the site developed from an area of waste ground into a thriving farm.
to start doing something again to start doing something again, especially something bad that you had decided not to do: · She's quit smoking four or five times, but she always starts again.start doing something again: · He started drinking again when he lost his job.start to do something again: · She attended school regularly for a while, then started to miss classes again.start that again: · "I didn't do it!" "Oh, don't start that again. I saw you."
to start behaving in a particular way again, after you had decided not to or when you are not supposed to; revert is more formal than go back to: · I went to a school where we had to speak French all the time, but outside school hours I reverted to English.· He's been in the hospital a couple of times, but he keeps going back to drinking. (=starts drinking alcohol again)go back to/revert to doing something: · Do you think she'll go back to using drugs?· We go home for Christmas and revert to being children again.
to gradually start doing something bad again after you had stopped, because you are not determined enough to prevent yourself from doing it: · Children will often slip back into babyish ways to get what they want.slip back into doing something: · to slip back into having a few drinks after work
to continue talking about something after stopping to continue talking about something after stopping or after talking about something else: · Continuing in a quieter voice, she asked how long he'd been married.· Nate didn't answer, so Murphy continued, "All of this happened before I was hired."· Before they could continue their conversation, Frank Gordon came over to speak to Oliver.
to continue talking after stopping, especially when you need to say more about something: · He went on in a soft voice, "I love you, Jane."· She started crying and couldn't go on.go on with: · Once everyone was quiet, Michael went on with his story.go on to say something: · He went on to say that there would be times when she would be expected to attend evening or weekend meetings.
also return to to start talking about a subject that you have already talked about earlier: · Finally, I'd like to go back to the point I made at the beginning of the lecture.· Getting back to what we were talking about earlier, do you think it's a realistic goal?
to start talking about a subject again having already talked about it earlier: · During the interview, they kept returning to the question of why he had left his previous job.return to what somebody said/talked about etc: · Returning to what you said earlier, do you really think there is a chance of a complete ceasefire?
to get back something that you had before to get back something that you had before, especially something that belongs to you: · Susanna has my lecture notes - I won't be able to get them back until Monday.get sth back from: · I need to get the tape recorder back from her.
to get back an ability or quality that you have lost, for example your authority or confidence: regain power/control: · Republicans hope to regain control of the House of Representatives.· The army is struggling to regain control over the southern part of the country.regain your confidence/faith/trust etc: · I don't know if I can ever regain my faith in him after what he's done.regain your strength (=become healthy and strong again): · Bill spent two weeks in the hospital regaining his strength after the operation.
to get back something such as an ability that you have lost, or something that has been stolen from you: · The bank is planning to sue the company in order to try and recover it's money.· It took the rest of the winter for her to recover her health.
formal to get back something after you have put it somewhere: · I had left my bag at the railroad station and went back to retrieve it.retrieve something from: · She bent down and retrieved the map from under the car seat.· If you want to retrieve a file from the computer, press FIND and then enter the name of the file you want.
to get back money or profits that you have spent or lost: recoup your losses: · She put $50 on the next race in an attempt to recoup her losses.recoup something from somebody: · The dentist gives treatment for free and then recoups the cost from the government.
to get back something that belongs to you that someone else has taken or that you have let them have: · You can reclaim tax if you find you have paid too much.· A British woman is waiting to hear how she can reclaim a family estate inside the former Soviet Union.reclaim something from: · China reclaimed Hong Kong from Britain in 1997.
to succeed in getting someone or something back by trying hard: win back somebody/something: · The airlines are trying to win back passengers by offering special low fares at certain times.· Debra sued the company and won back her job and $144,000 in damages.win somebody/something back: · Jack could see no way of winning his wife back.
to arrange to do something at a later time to change the time when something was planned to happen, and arrange for it to happen later: · Several of today's football games have been postponed because of heavy snow.postpone something until/till something: · They decided to postpone the wedding until Pam's mother was out of the hospital.postpone something for two days/three weeks etc: · In 1968, the Oscar ceremony was postponed for two days, following the assassination of Martin Luther King.
to decide to do something later than you planned to do it or should do it, for example because there is a problem or because you do not want to do it now: put something off/put off something: · I really should go to the dentist, but I keep putting it off.put something off until/till something: · The concert's been put off till next week.put off doing something: · The committee decided to put off making any decision until the new year.
to not do something until something else has happened or until a more suitable time: delay something until something: · He decided to delay his departure until after he'd seen the Director.delay doing something: · The police delayed making any announcement until the girl's relatives had been contacted.
if an event is pushed back , someone arranges for it to be held at a later time or date than originally planned: be pushed/moved/put back to: · The meeting has been put back to next Thursday.
to decide to do or deal with something at a later time, especially because there is a problem or because you have more important things to deal with immediately: · We're going to have to put our plans on ice until we can raise some more money.· I've put my acting career on the back burner for a while, while I concentrate on my writing.
to delay doing something that you ought to do, usually because you do not want to do it - used especially to show disapproval: · He hesitated and procrastinated for weeks before he finally told her he wanted their relationship to end.procrastinate about/over: · Certain players are procrastinating over their contracts in order to see how much money they can squeeze out of their clubs.
when something happened or was true in the past but not now if someone or something used to do something, they did it for a period of time in the past, or they did it regularly in the past, but they do not do it now: · "Do you smoke?" "No, but I used to."used to do something: · We used to live in Glasgow when I was young.there used to be: · Thirty years ago, there used to be a market in the town.never used to: · It never used to rain as much as this.didn't use to do something spoken: · I was surprised to see her driving - she didn't use to.used not to do something formal: · He used not to be so critical of other people's behaviour.
during a period of time in the past but not now - use this when it is not important to say exactly when this period was: · Apparently he once worked for the FBI.· It is a big city now, but at one time the population was only 50,000.· a sports car once owned by Paul McCartney
during a particular period of time in the past - use this when you are comparing that period with the present: · I was a student in the 1950s, and things were very different then.· At that time most married women stayed at home.
use this to talk about a situation that existed before the present time but does not exist now: · In the past, most children didn't go to school at all.· Women were not allowed to vote or own property in the past.
use this to talk about a long time ago in your life, or in your parents' or grandparents' lives, when things were different: · My great grandfather earned £5 a week, which was a lot of money in those days.· In the old days there was no bridge over the river, and we crossed it by boat.in the good old days (=at a time when you think that things were better than now): · In the good old days people showed more respect to the older generation.
at a time before you were born, especially hundreds of years ago: · The children all wanted to know what life was like in the olden days.
written in the past, before the present situation existed: · The local school was formerly a hospital.· Peru was formerly ruled by the Spanish.
to react to someone in the same way as they treat you formal to react to someone's feelings or actions towards you by showing the same feelings towards them, doing the same thing for them etc --use this especially when the feelings or actions are good: · We asked them over for dinner, hoping they would reciprocate.reciprocate feelings/an invitation etc: · Although Miss Warton did not reciprocate John's feelings, she did nothing to discourage them.· My classmates would ask me over, but I never felt I could reciprocate the invitation.
if you smile back , hit someone back etc, you smile at someone, hit them etc, after they have done the same thing to you: · Carol yelled back, "If it's so easy, you come and have a go!''· If Jamie rings, tell him I'll call him back.· The man just sat there smiling back at me.
informal if someone who is being attacked or criticized gives as good as they get , they are just as violent or rude as the person who is attacking them: · Don't you worry about Tim. He may be small but he gives as good as he gets!· It was a tough interview, but I thought the President gave as good as he got.· At 87, Juran is still able to give as good as he gets.
to try very hard to remember something · You must try to remember what happened -- it's very important.· His name? Wait a minute. I'm trying to remember.try to remember who/what/how etc · I'm trying to remember how the theme tune goes.
to try to remember something by deliberately thinking about it a lot: think of: · You used to go out with the man from the bank, didn't you? I just can't think of his name.try to think: · "What did you do with the keys?" "Hang on, I'm just trying to think."think what/why/how etc: · I can't think where I put it.· Just let me think what the title was.think hard (=use this to emphasize that you try to remember something): · If she thought hard enough, she could just about remember what her mother looked like.think and think (=think for a long time): · He thought and thought but he couldn't remember.
if something comes back to you, you gradually start to remember it again after a lot of effort: · I can't think of the title at the moment, but it'll come back to me.· If you can remember all that, I'm sure the rest will come back to you.
British to try to remember something that happened a long time in the past: · Lisa, if you cast your mind back, I think you'll recall that it was your idea.cast your mind back to: · Henry cast his mind back to the fateful evening.cast your mind back over: · He frowned, casting his mind back over the conversation they had held.cast your mind back forty years/three days etc: · Cast your mind back a few weeks to the Athletics Championship in Armagh.
to try extremely hard to remember something that you find very difficult to remember: · Desperately, Irvin racked his brains, but there was nothing he could tell them.· She racked her brains, trying to remember what David had said.rack your brains for: · They sat in silence, racking their brains for the name of the road.
to remember someone or something from the past if you remember something that happened, something you did, or someone or something you used to know, the thought of them comes back into your mind: · Do you remember your first day at school?· Oh yes, I remember now. We met him at the last conference, didn't we?· You remember the way to the bathroom, don't you?· Yes, I remember Janine. She lived in that house on the corner, and she had a pet rabbit.remember who/what/where/how: · Can you remember what the man looked like?· I can't remember how the film ends. remember (that): · He remembered that he had felt just the same way when he first started working.remember doing something: · He remembered meeting her at a party once.· Older citizens remember eating soyabeans during the Depression.remember somebody doing something: · I don't remember him being that good at athletics in school.· He remembers Leonard coming home late at night, covered in blood.
especially spoken to think about something that happened in the past because you want to remember it: · She tried to think back and remember exactly what Jim had said.· Thinking back, I should have been more assertive.think back/look back to: · Think back to last year. Look how bad things were then.· When I think back to how it all started, I'm amazed.think back/look back on: · When I look back on those days, it always makes me sad.· When I think back on it now, I realize I expected too much from her.think back five years/two days etc (=try to remember what happened five years, two days etc ago): · I tried to think three years back. Where was it we had met?
to deliberately remember a particular fact, event, or situation from the past in order to tell someone about it, especially in a law court or other official situation: · David recalled an incident that took place in the family home some 12 years previously.· "I didn't like him very much," Kev recalled. "He was arrogant."· As a child, she recalled, her parents had seemed very happy together.recall what/how/when etc: · He didn't like to recall what a disaster his business venture had been.recall that: · I recall that on at least one occasion I saw him taking money from the office.recall doing something: · Howard sighed. He could not recall ever being this tired before.as I recall (=that is what I recall): · The meeting went very well, as I recall.
to be able to remember something, especially by deliberately trying to remember: · I recognize his face but I can't seem to recollect much about him.· "The lawyers distorted what I wanted to say," recollects Hansen grimly.· I can still recollect every detail of that meeting.recollect who/why/how etc: · Only later did she recollect where she'd seem him before.recollect that: · We have nine children, and I don't recollect that I ever felt the need to hit any of them.recollect doing something: · I do not recollect ever having been to Ohio, although my mother says we went there when I was a child.
to talk about pleasant events, people, experiences etc from the past, because you want to remember them or enjoy talking about them: · At club meetings, we like to reminisce, remembering old times.reminisce about: · I used to spend hours listening to my grandfather reminisce about life in the army.· Lazlo enjoyed reminiscing about his life in Poland before he went to America.
something that you remember from the past about a person, place, or experience: · This place holds lots of memories for us.· Now, his experiences were just a painful memory.· We had to write a story about our earliest memory (=the first event you can remember in your life).memory of: · I have lots of happy memories of my time in Japan.bring back memories (=makes someone think of a happy time in the past): · We're playing the old songs that I'm sure will bring back memories for you.
the slightly sad feeling you have when you remember happy things from the past: · There's a mood of nostalgia throughout the whole book.· a bittersweet film of nostalgia and innocencenostalgia for: · Reagan appealed to the average American's sense of nostalgia for a golden age.
to go to the place where you were before · I left my hometown 12 years ago, and I have no desire to go back.go back to · When will you be going back to Japan?go back for · We'll have to go back for the tickets - I think I left them on the desk.go back in/out/inside/downstairs etc · It's cold out here - shall we go back inside?· The phone started ringing again as soon as I went back upstairs.go back the way you came · Part of the trail was flooded, so we had to go back the way we had come.go back home · Frank's gone back home to visit his parents and won't be back for a week.
if someone comes back , they return to the place where you are: · Rachel's left me, and I don't think she'll ever come back.come back to: · When will you be coming back to London?come back from: · He's just come back from a vacation in Miami.come back for: · Whoever left the gloves will probably come back for them tomorrow.
to go back or come back to the place where you were before. Return is used more in written or formal contexts than go back or come back: · I left early, but promised to return the next day.return to: · He had to return to India to look after his mother.return from: · Alastair returned from the office late that night.return home: · As the soldiers returned home, their wives had to readjust to living with them again.
to return to your home or to the country where you were born: · It's late - I should go home now.· John used to go home once a month when he was at college.go home to: · I've enjoyed my time in Europe, but I'm really looking forward to going home to America.
to return to the house where you live: · What time did you get in last night?· I usually get home about 7:30 - you can try calling me after that.get in/get home from: · He hasn't had anything to eat yet. He just got home from work.
to be in the place where you were before you went away: · Jack! What a surprise! How long have you been back?· Carol is away on business, but she should be back next week.· We'll get together when you're back from vacation.
: run/drive/fly/walk etc back go back to where you were before by running, driving etc: · We took the train to Paris, but flew back.back to/from etc: · We cycled back from the beach in the evening.· It was a beautiful day, so I decided to walk back to the office.
to go back to a place that you have visited before · China was fascinating - I hope I'll be able to return one day.return/go back for · The dentist says I have to go back again next week for a check up.return/go back to do something · These birds return to the same place every year to build their nests.· He'll have to go back to Moscow in June to finalize the deal.
to go back to a place that you have been to before, especially a place that you like and that you have not visited for a long time: · Maria was eager to revisit her first school.· They revisited many of the places they had gone to on their honeymoon.
a journey back to the place where you started: return journey/trip/flight etc · The sea was much calmer on the return voyage.· The return trip took about an hour less than the trip there.
to a place and back again to the place that you started from: · How long will it take to drive there and back?· "How far is it to Milwaukee?" "It's about 30 miles there and back."
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY
He was back home by half past eleven. It’s possible to travel there and back in a day. If you decide to marry him, there will be no going back (=you will not be able to get back to your previous situation). The dog arched its back. He choked back tears as he described what had happened. High heels are coming back into fashion. He was getting a crick in his neck from leaning out of the window for so long. He was born in Utah but went to college back East. I spent all morning looking for a suitable present, but came home empty-handed. The first petrol-driven car was produced as far back as 1883. She looked away, fighting back her tears. That night I lay flat on my back and stared up at the ceiling. The Church will welcome him back into the fold. Janet forced back her tears. Life was beginning to get back to normal. I couldn’t get back to sleep. We go back a long way (=we have been friends for a long time). Delors claimed that the president had gone back on his word. an error that would come back to haunt them for years to come Will you be back here tonight? I’m backing the PM to the hilt on this. She struggled to hold back her tears. Now that the crisis is over, we must try to get things back on an even keel. She was struggling to keep back the tears. I grew up here; I know the place like the back of my hand (=I know it very well). He is famed for his laid-back attitude. a network of alleys and back lanes (=narrow unimportant roads, often behind a row of houses) Looking back on it, I still can’t figure out what went wrong. city workers who want to get back to nature in their holidays Henry kicked the ball into the back of the net. Thankfully, train services are now back to normal. After Ray’s operation, Mrs Stallard nursed him back to health. Companies can plough back their profits into new equipment. In the second half Leeds came roaring back with two goals in five minutes. I took a vacation to try to recover my sanity. Tina Turner’s backing singers (=people who sing with her) The police are now back at square one in their investigation. Alastair woke with a stiff neck. He was swinging his bag back and forth. I was paid £1,000, which was a lot of money back then (=a long time ago when things were different) in the 1950s. It’s too far to drive there and back in one day. I tie my hair back when I’m jogging. He took the engine apart and then put it back together again. We’ve promised to help, and there’s no turning back (=you cannot change this)! Welcome back – it’s good to see you again. The kids were playing in the back yard.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSVERB
He was back home by half past eleven. It’s possible to travel there and back in a day. If you decide to marry him, there will be no going back (=you will not be able to get back to your previous situation). (=in the place that you come from and think of as your home) It reminded me of evenings back home.
It reminded me of evenings back home. (=three years etc ago) His wife died a couple of years back. He called me a while back.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES His wife died a couple of years back. He called me a while back. (also renege on an agreement formal) (=not do what you agreed to do)· Republican leaders accused Democrats of trying to renege on an agreement to have a House vote.
The dog arched its back. (=a brace that supports the neck etc) He was being fitted for a back brace.
He was being fitted for a back brace. (also catch your breath) (=start breathing normally again)· He leant against a tree until he had got his breath back.
(=make it move backwards)· Suzy backed the car into the driveway.
· He leant back in his chair and took out his pipe.
(=in order to get up)· He pushed back his chair and stood up.
· The chair leg has broken.
He choked back tears as he described what had happened. (=support it)· They challenged him to back up his claims with evidence.
High heels are coming back into fashion.· The doctors were unable to bring her back to consciousness.
(=made in case the original is lost)· Be sure you regularly make back-up copies of your data.
· The price of the book is on the back cover.
He was getting a crick in his neck from leaning out of the window for so long. (=open them)· Would you mind opening the curtains?
(=decide not to make a deal after discussing one)· Twenty-five jobs were lost after their partner pulled out of the deal.
· You'll get your deposit back when all the bills have been paid.
· When I left, the landlord refused to give me my deposit back.
(=of a house)· I heard someone knocking at the front door.· Use the back door if your boots are muddy.
He was born in Utah but went to college back East.· I banged my elbow on the front edge of the desk.
I spent all morning looking for a suitable present, but came home empty-handed.· There is a long drive with steps leading to the front entrance.
(=used to describe a calculation or plan that is written down quickly on any available small piece of paper)· She scribbled a few ideas on the back of an envelope.
The first petrol-driven car was produced as far back as 1883. (=become fashionable again)· Short skirts are coming back into fashion this year.
She looked away, fighting back her tears. That night I lay flat on my back and stared up at the ceiling. The Church will welcome him back into the fold. (=of an animal)· The horse lifted its back foot.
Janet forced back her tears. (=discover new things)
British English (=behind a house)· The children are playing in the back garden.
(=the gate in front of or at the back of a building)· She stood outside the front gate of the cottage.
Life was beginning to get back to normal. I couldn’t get back to sleep. We go back a long way (=we have been friends for a long time). Delors claimed that the president had gone back on his word. (=one that gives you back the money you paid if there is a problem)· The company offers a 30-day, money-back guarantee on all its products.
(=the outside surface of your hand)· Let a dog sniff the back of your hand, rather than your fingers.
an error that would come back to haunt them for years to come Will you be back here tonight? I’m backing the PM to the hilt on this. She struggled to hold back her tears. Now that the crisis is over, we must try to get things back on an even keel. She was struggling to keep back the tears.· She felt in her pocket for the front door key.
I grew up here; I know the place like the back of my hand (=I know it very well). He is famed for his laid-back attitude. a network of alleys and back lanes (=narrow unimportant roads, often behind a row of houses)· Have you taken those books back to the library?
(=give back the money you borrowed, usually over a period of time)· You can repay the loan early without a penalty.
Looking back on it, I still can’t figure out what went wrong. (also rekindle/revive memories formal) (=make you remember something)· For many older people, the film brought back memories of the war.
(=you suddenly remember things clearly)· Evelyn hugged her daughter, as memories came flooding back to her.
(also refund somebody’s money) (=give money back to a customer)· We regret that we are unable to refund money on tickets.
city workers who want to get back to nature in their holidays Henry kicked the ball into the back of the net. Thankfully, train services are now back to normal. After Ray’s operation, Mrs Stallard nursed him back to health. (=used to say when or how something began)· The school’s origins go back to the 12th century.
(=of a newspaper)· Her picture was on the front page of every newspaper.
· Many people suffer from back pain.
Companies can plough back their profits into new equipment.· He took a wad of money from his back pocket.
· He was born with heart problems.
(=break it)· They were angry that the company had gone back on its promise.
· Not one of these organizations supports the government's proposals.
· Get to the back of the queue!
(=make them realize what is happening around them or true)· She was brought back to reality by the pain in her ankle.
(=rent you owe for an earlier period)· Mrs Carr said she is still owed several thousand dollars in back rent.
(=a small road that is not used much)· He drove into a quiet side road and stopped the car.
In the second half Leeds came roaring back with two goals in five minutes. I took a vacation to try to recover my sanity. (=in a car)· Never leave bags on the back seat of a car.
· The audience clapped as he returned to his seat.
Tina Turner’s backing singers (=people who sing with her) (=sleep again after waking up)· He shut his eyes and went back to sleep.
The police are now back at square one in their investigation. (=used when you start something again because you were not successful the first time) Okay, let’s go back to square one and try again.
Okay, let’s go back to square one and try again. Alastair woke with a stiff neck. (=a small quiet street near the main street)· The restaurant is tucked away in a side street.
· Somehow I just knew in the end we would get back to the subject of money.
He was swinging his bag back and forth. (=not cry even though you feel like crying)· She gave her version of events, often struggling to hold back the tears.
(=try not to cry)· She fought back tears yesterday as she re-lived the horrors she had seen.
I was paid £1,000, which was a lot of money back then (=a long time ago when things were different) in the 1950s. It’s too far to drive there and back in one day. I tie my hair back when I’m jogging. He took the engine apart and then put it back together again.· Some of his front teeth were missing.
We’ve promised to help, and there’s no turning back (=you cannot change this)! (=make it show an earlier time)· On Saturday night, don’t forget to put your watch back an hour.
Welcome back – it’s good to see you again.· Stand well back from the edge of the platform.
· The rear wheels of the bus got stuck in a creek.
· The burglar had got in through one of the back windows.
· His doctor agreed he was fit enough to return to work.
The kids were playing in the back yard.· The child must know how to win back the favour of its parents.· Over time, both parents won back their authority, he said.· He missed Josh terribly, but knew there was no way of winning back his affections at the moment.· They must build her a great temple near the town and so win back the favor of her heart.· He campaigned tirelessly to win back the twice yearly courts or assizes, which Buckingham had lost to Aylesbury.· Right now our goal is to win back the House.· Now it's up to you to win back your right to choose.· After Fitzgerald won back his job through a court fight, the generals made sure he was given nothing to do.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRYPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► get in through the back door► back seat driver► bite something ↔ back► bring something ↔ back► bring something ↔ back► bring something ↔ back► bring somebody ↔ back► put/leave something on the back burner► call (somebody) back► cut something ↔ back► back in the day► lie back and think of England► fight something ↔ back► get somebody back► get something ↔ back► the clocks go back► can do something with one hand (tied) behind your back► go to hell and back► keep something ↔ back► keep something ↔ back► keep somebody ↔ back► keep something ↔ back► my head/back etc is killing me► knock something ↔ back► knock somebody back something► knock somebody back► it fell off the back of a lorry► a monkey on your back► pull something ↔ back► put your back out► put somebody/something ↔ back► put something ↔ back► put something ↔ back► put a clock/watch back► rick your back/neck► I’ll be right with you/right there/right back► put the roses back in somebody’s cheeks► you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours► be glad/pleased etc to see the back of somebody/something► set somebody/something ↔ back► take something ↔ back► take something ↔ back► take somebody back► like water off a duck’s back
1return to place in, into, or to the place or position where someone or something was before: - Craig sighed and leaned back in his chair.
- But no one can sit back in investment clubs and just listen.
- He must generate all his own internal discipline against the possible inclination to lie back and enjoy his good fortune.
- He sat back on his heels, sorrowfully examining the ruined glove.
- He walked without hesitation to the very front row, sat down and lay back, gazing up at the screen.
- She heard him returning just as she sat back to admire her handiwork.
- Then she lay back on her pillow and they looked at each other as if it was for the first time.
- We started to sit back because we were up on the No. 1 team in the nation.
- Whatever some think, we don't sit back.
- Brach flies back and forth weekly, between New York and L.A.
- The chair squeaks when you rock back and forth.
- A few of the mounts shifted their feet; here and there a rider slid his sword back and forth in its scabbard.
- It goes back and forth though.
- My feet hurt, and the side window waggled back and forth each time I kicked it, but nothing else happened.
- Petey heard him trying to brave it out, rocking back and forth to make the pain subside.
- The road twisted, two lanes of blacktop angling back and forth up the side of the mountain.
- They passed it back and forth.
- This gives you the freedom to move back and forth and swing your arm - you must feel free!
- To switch back and forth between the two documents, press Shift-F3.
- Women have often been forced to take a back seat in society.
- And very generally, the interests of lenders in New York take a back seat to the interests of the corporate borrowers.
- But when they were introduced, everything upstairs had to take a back seat.
- He notes, however, that economic considerations are taking a back seat to budget negotiations.
- If you can't agree to disagree, then take a back seat and let others have their way on this occasion.
- It was also a year when investment bankers took a back seat.
- Many feel reluctant to take a back seat and allow their children to enjoy the special attractiveness of the teens and twenties.
- Mr Peters has now taken a back seat.
- That her family had taken a back seat in her life.
- A sweetheart, this little lady, not bad legs either.
- For Joshua, at sixty-two, and suffering from a bad leg, distances had begun to take on an extraordinary significance.
- He had a bad back as well, you know, just like Rich.
- He had a bad leg and they kept on at him to hurry up.
- Medical deferment for a very bad heart.
- That coming from him who would go sick with a bad back whenever a job tired him.
- The problems-from bad backs to carpal tunnel syndrome to headaches-have made the headlines of every health magazine in the country.
- A constructive response to the Howie Report would be more pertinent than saloon-bar simplicities about getting back to basics.
- His party claims to be the party of law and order, the family, back to basics.
- In other words, forget your fancy gender studies: the neo-Darwinists were marching us back to basics.
- Last Wednesday was all about back to basics and glimpses of optimism.
- Now, however, it seems that the route to success may once again involve going back to basics.
- This month's personal finance column therefore takes a back to basics look at expatriate tax.
- Try to counter nervousness by getting right back to basics.
- I noticed that his hands were trembling slightly, and he seemed to be blinking back tears.
- She needed to blink away tears.
- Touching the welt, Howard tried to blink back tears before going inside.
- A combination of ground and air action broke the back of the rebellion.
- His two interceptions Sunday broke the back of the Pittsburgh Steelers as Dallas won the duel in the desert, 27-17.
- In Czechoslovakia last March Martin Keown nearly broke the back of the net with a long-range effort.
- It would have been nice for him to wind things up by breaking the back of Britain's opposition to integration.
- Pouring over its latest simulation runs, Sun is confident it has broken the back of the technical problem.
- Their thunderous charges have broken the back of many an invading army.
- Food brought me back to the human face.
- He had felt ashamed the first time he put it on: it brought him back to his ugliness.
- Polishing with a soft cloth will bring the surface back to life.
- She brings the papers back to her office and shuts the door.
- This brings us back to the expressive order.
- We must bring that cup back to Oxfordshire.
- Which brings us back to red wine.
- Which brings us back to why this period is one of some urgency.
- After appearing to be in terminal decline the monarchy is back in business.
- By the summer of 1992 the dress patrols were back in business.
- Last week, Peron was back in business, with a few cosmetic changes.
- Male speaker We're setting up in another hangar and hope to be back in business soon.
- Nice to see Dave Hill's barber is back in business.
- Stop Press: Liverpool is back in business.
- The company was back in business.
- The Cumberland Tavern - now under new management - is back in business as a rock venue.
- Cast you mind back a few weeks to the Athletics Championship in Armagh.
- He frowned, casting his mind back over the conversation they had held.
- Henry cast his mind back to the fateful evening.
- Lisa, if you cast your mind back, I think you'll recall that it was your idea.
- Again, more in control of matters, he cast his mind back.
- He cast his mind back to his homecoming earlier that evening.
- He racked his brains, he cast his mind back.
- I cast my mind back to our excited departure from Gatwick airport.
- Let us cast our minds back to the referendum.
- If I could turn the clock back, I don't think I'd study law again.
- It would be nice to put the clock back to the years when Mum and Dad were still alive.
- He thinks you can turn the clock back.
- It was almost like turning the clock back a couple of centuries.
- Not unless they fell into Morton's hands. Turn the clock back.
- Or not lie, maybe. Turn the clock back.
- The most important thing now is not to turn the clock back.
- This great divide can not be bridged by turning the clock back.
- We can not turn the clock back.
- What is past is past and you can not turn the clock back.
- Anyway, even if one wanted to, one couldn't put the clock back to an earlier age.
- I can't put the clock back.
- They were therefore accused of putting the clock back and bringing the best hope of Christendom to an impasse.
- I, like many other riders, am eagerly awaiting the clocks going forward.
- Police say they had to enforce the law after 1am when the clocks went forward an hour.
- When the clocks go back in late October it will be dark by five o'clock in the afternoon.
- It's a back-handed compliment really, you know.
- A few weeks later Patrick Ashby came back from the dead and went home to inherit the family house and fortune.
- Friends don't come back from the dead, Leila thought, rampaging through the corridor from the canteen.
- The single engine airplane business came back from the dead after the General Aviation Revitalization Act made it harder to sue.
- When Cardiff had come back from the dead, he had shrunk away back down the hessian-screen corridor towards Rohmer.
- Voters rejected the bridge expansion plan, so it's back to the drawing board for city engineers.
- For San Jose, it was back to the drawing board.
- So Superman, once the most recognized and revered hero in comic books, was sent back to the drawing board.
- Sometimes, you also have to go back to the drawing board.
- The Cta episode has therefore sent the whole idea of direct dating of petroglyphs back to the drawing board.
- They must go back to the drawing board and review the whole of youth training.
- They want to see the road plan sent back to the drawing board.
- You also could go back to the drawing board with that budget, trying to reduce costs.
- You have to discard the propeller engine and go back to the drawing board.
- Adai can come back to Earth after Gog is dead - after I am dead, perhaps.
- AIr travellers came down to earth with a bump yesterday when they joined in some charity aerobics.
- In Karuzi you quickly come down to earth.
- Maybe, but the once pricey products that use this satellite technology have come down to earth.
- Peter Lilley came down to earth.
- They recently have come down to Earth.
- When you're looking after a two year old, you need to have eyes in the back of your head.
- You need to have eyes in the back of your head to be a teacher.
- Arthur was flat on his back under the car.
- I've been flat on my back with the flu all week.
- Babs said it was all very well but had he forgotten their leading man was flat on his back in Sefton General?
- What else would he need if he were going to be flat on his back or stomach?
- But we are reliably informed that Angus will be back on his feet and more importantly that seat tomorrow.
- He got back on his feet, and they all made another parade around the stage.
- In those early years, Macey helped Dole literally get back on his feet.
- It was an inexpensive, safe, stable environment for families while they got back on their feet.
- Never got back on her feet again, really.
- The Mirror Group would soon be back on its feet.
- We can get back on our feet.
- There's no going back, even if I wanted to, which I don't.
- Too late you realize that there's no going back.
- For Casey, there was no holding back when it came to music.
- I had to eat with one hand and hold the hair back with the other-it was so fiddly.
- Its plush vegetation crowded the restraining fence that had been made strong, damned near impregnable, to hold it back.
- No walls, no fences, nothing to hold him back.
- Suddenly she holds some back as if still determined to drive the hardest possible bargain.
- That wildfire feeling might have got a hold a month back, but it would not be allowed to do so again.
- The whistle postponed it, held it back until announcing the morning shift at six.
- His wife had to hold him back.
- I had to eat with one hand and hold the hair back with the other-it was so fiddly.
- Its plush vegetation crowded the restraining fence that had been made strong, damned near impregnable, to hold it back.
- No walls, no fences, nothing to hold him back.
- Suddenly she holds some back as if still determined to drive the hardest possible bargain.
- That wildfire feeling might have got a hold a month back, but it would not be allowed to do so again.
- His wife had to hold him back.
- I had to eat with one hand and hold the hair back with the other-it was so fiddly.
- Its plush vegetation crowded the restraining fence that had been made strong, damned near impregnable, to hold it back.
- No walls, no fences, nothing to hold him back.
- Suddenly she holds some back as if still determined to drive the hardest possible bargain.
- That wildfire feeling might have got a hold a month back, but it would not be allowed to do so again.
- The whistle postponed it, held it back until announcing the morning shift at six.
- His wife had to hold him back.
- I had to eat with one hand and hold the hair back with the other-it was so fiddly.
- No walls, no fences, nothing to hold him back.
- Suddenly she holds some back as if still determined to drive the hardest possible bargain.
- That wildfire feeling might have got a hold a month back, but it would not be allowed to do so again.
- The whistle postponed it, held it back until announcing the morning shift at six.
- His wife had to hold him back.
- Its plush vegetation crowded the restraining fence that had been made strong, damned near impregnable, to hold it back.
- Suddenly she holds some back as if still determined to drive the hardest possible bargain.
- That wildfire feeling might have got a hold a month back, but it would not be allowed to do so again.
- The whistle postponed it, held it back until announcing the morning shift at six.
- After Berg left baseball in 1978, he never looked back.
- After this he would never look back.
- And it was a strange feeling for Lois when she saw Paul do just that and never look back.
- He grabbed the points race lead for good in late April and virtually never looked back.
- Her studies were interrupted by the opportunity to go into local politics, from which she has never looked back.
- Mandy Rice-Davies meant good times, and never looking back.
- Once he learned to ride his gains and cut his losses, he never looked back.
- She never looked back to see what was chasing her, just woke in a cramped sweat, breathless and in tears.
- Today their dreams have come true partially because they burned their bridges and never looked back.
- He longed to explore, to take the wild adventure of going completely back to nature.
- Such language glances back to nature worship.
- When people talk of going back to nature, do they really know what they are asking for?
- But you can get your own back.
- By launching the new forum Mr Heseltine is getting his own back on the now weakened Mr Lamont.
- I've gotta get my own back.
- I hope you haven't gone and done anything silly to it just to get your own back for me going away.
- The only way Scott could get his own back was by replacing my voice during the post-production.
- Tupac stoked the feud, claiming to have slept with Biggie Smalls's wife, Smalls threatened to get his own back.
- Was that a way of getting his own back?
- Women get their own back by borrowing their man's razor.
- She should pat herself on the back and take a well-earned break.
- Because when I pat myself on the back, the next sensation is usually a sharp kick lower down.
- Cliff Nudelman pats me on the back.
- Every person on the street will pat you on the back.
- For most of that ride it patted itself on the back.
- How dare she wave her bloody job at us like she wanted us to pat her on the back for it?
- I patted him on the back as hard as I dared but he still couldn't breathe.
- The manager patted Stuart on the back.
- This time I patted myself on the back all the way to the hotel.
- I think you all deserve a pat on the back for your hard work.
- I think we should give Fairclough a pat on the back for his performances in the last few games.
- It amounts to a pat on the back.
- Just a smile or a pat on the back may keep a student working.
- No one gets past him without an encouraging word, a pat on the back, a smile.
- Now congratulate your loved one and give yourself a pat on the back as well for your own agility around the course.
- That was intended to be a pat on the back - as one of several others - for me.
- The tournament-sponsoring Thunderbirds deserve a pat on the back.
- Try starting with a pat on the back to soften the blow of criticism.
- He was back on the rails, and moving again.
- It seems that matters have fallen behind schedule and need to be put back on the rails.
- Better than that was riding on his back while he went down on hands and knees and neighed like a horse.
- Dostoevsky wanted to stifle the thought that he was riding on the back of Nechacv's perverse glamour.
- Just by riding on your shoulders, Newt.
- Oblivious to the emotion riding on their backs, Aureole and Pinza came to Epsom with excellent credentials.
- Or you can ride on my back, if you prefer.
- People on welfare are not taking a ride on the backs of other people.
- Power can not ride on an upright back.
- But he rolled back the years wearing his old jockeys' uniform in the Radcliffe Selling Stakes at Nottingham.
- Quality will have to take a back seat to price when we buy the new furniture.
- And very generally, the interests of lenders in New York take a back seat to the interests of the corporate borrowers.
- As the race drew closer it was time for Paul to take a back seat.
- But when they were introduced, everything upstairs had to take a back seat.
- Golf Faldo forced to take a back seat to Walker Cup team.
- He notes, however, that economic considerations are taking a back seat to budget negotiations.
- It was also a year when investment bankers took a back seat.
- Long-term planning took a back seat in the deliberations of the senior engineers whose efforts were principally devoted to overcoming short-term problems.
- Turning the original classic topsy-turvy, Stoppard makes Hamlet himself take a back seat and elevates two minor characters to star status.
- Forbes slapped me on the back.
- He rushed over and slapped me on the back as I lifted a highball to my lips.
- I go to slap her on the back but she waves my arm away impatiently.
- In those days it was considered bad form even to slap you on the back.
- Jack said, and he slapped Streeter on the back of the head with his gun hand.
- She slapped him on the back.
- She intended to slap Elisabeth on the back, but she was too late.
- a congratulatory slap on the back
- A hot water bottle in the small of your back should help.
- As the skaters skated, they sometimes tucked one arm into the small of their backs.
- But then he was sandwiched between the door and the floor level, concrete lip digging into the small of his back.
- Her white sweatshirt is bunched up and tucked in at the small of her back, so her rear is exposed.
- I could see the great livid weals of scars running across the small of her back and down her mighty thighs.
- I stroke the small of his back.
- She moved her hand to the small of his back and propelled him across the porch.
- When he stepped forward to use the other hand, something cracked into the small of his back, and he stumbled.
- He seems friendly, but he wouldn't hesitate to stab you in the back if he thought it would help him get your job.
- Thatcher was stabbed in the back by her former friends and colleagues in the Conservative Party.
- I see, you criticize my appearance, and then you stab me in the back!
- Some one reached through an open window and stabbed Bastidas in the back.
- Why stab Manchester in the back for helping to create a bigger northern network of clubs, raves and fashion outlets?
- I was stabbed in the back because I don't have those problems with Steve.
- It's so many stabs in the back ... It's the whole system which is tucking us up.
- MacQuillan had been stabbed in the back, there were no palm or fingerprints on the weapon.
- Nationalists supported the Wilson/Callaghan governments for years, only to be stabbed in the back in the end.
- If we lose tomorrow, we'll be back where we started.
- And if you decide that they are not, then you are back where you started.
- So my client and I are back where we started.
- To a large extent we are back where we started.
- For first time in his life, he was being thrown back on the his own resources.
- He was about to be thrown back on the bloody rubbish heap, or worse.
- The result is that they are thrown back on their own individual and collective resources.
- It was no fun having my own words thrown back at me by my kids.
- A lot of their love would be rebuffed or thrown back in their faces.
- My love - my name thrown back in my face.
- Nobody was throwing anything in their faces.
- This would be thrown back in his face later by North Koreaand sooner than anyone guessed.
- He had only to pick one of them up to be transported back to the time and place of its acquisition.
- Years later, at a sound, sight or scent, you can be transported back to that place.
- He turned his back on Shauna and walked to the window.
- He would never turn his back on a fellow veteran.
- Many immigrants turn their back on the old ways.
- He turned his back abruptly and walked away.
- He acknowledged his paternity when he could have easily turned his back on him and told him he was a servant.
- I handed him back that hundred dollars and turned my back and took him in.
- Kissinger said it was disgraceful that the United States had turned its back on one of her oldest and closest friends.
- So in the end I turned my back on it and walked away.
- Weaken, turn your back for a moment and it could be lost for good.
- Wiltshire's Social Services department has promised not to turn its back on the problem of alcoholics.
- He may be prime minister for now, but he still needs to watch his back.
- Besides which, I needed an ally at the shop, some one to watch my back should things get hairy.
- But watch your back when I get out, all right?
- But Yeltsin will have to watch his back.
- Drug traffickers and guerrillas mix with spies and mercenaries, all cautiously watching their backs.
- Enjoy it, but watch your back.
- Other agents are watching his back, he says.
- She watched his back for a moment.
- She noticed that everyone seemed to have drifted a little closer; was talking a little less, watching their backs.
I’ll be back in a minute. Put that book back where you found it!back in/to/into etc Rory plugged the cable back into the socket. I feel like going back to bed.go/get/head etc back We ought to try and get back before it gets dark. He was back home by half past eleven. It’s possible to travel there and back in a day.GRAMMAR• You go back to a place: · We decided to go back to Athens.· I’m going back to school tomorrow.• You go back home: · It’s time to go back home. ✗Don’t say: go back to home2as before in or into the condition or situation you were in before: Gary woke at 4 am and couldn’t get back to sleep. It took me a long time to get my confidence back. If you decide to marry him, there will be no going back (=you will not be able to get back to your previous situation).go/get back to (doing) something There’s no way I’m going back to being poor. It’ll take a while for things to get back to normal.3previous place in or to a place where you lived or worked beforeback in/at She was the one who had fired him from his first job back in South Africa.back home (=in the place that you come from and think of as your home) It reminded me of evenings back home.4backwards in the opposite direction from the way you are facing OPP forwards: He glanced back at the house. Kirov stepped back a pace. She tilted her head back to look at him.5reply/reaction if you do something back, you do it as a reply or reaction to what someone has said or done: Can I call you back later? I’ll pay you back on Friday. ‘No, thanks!’ he shouted back. If he hits you, you just hit him back.6return something to somebody if you give something, get something etc back, you return it to the person who first had it, or you have it returned to you: Can we have our ball back, please? I want all my books back as soon as you’ve finished with them. Give me back that letter! It’s none of your business!7in the past in or towards a time in the past: a pile of newspapers dating back to the 1970s A lot of emotional problems can be traced back to childhood. Looking back on it, I should have known he was unhappy. At times, I think back to my life in Moscow.back in The house was built back in 1235.three years/two months etc back (=three years etc ago) His wife died a couple of years back. He called me a while back.8again once again: Go back over your work to check for any mistakes. Liverpool were back level again two minutes later with a superb goal.9sit/lie/lean back to sit or lie in a comfortable relaxed way: Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!10away away from a surface, person, or thing: She pulled the bandage back very carefully. Her hair was brushed back from her face. The woman nodded and stood back, allowing Patrick to enter.11back and forth going in one direction and then in the opposite direction, and repeating this several times: We travel back and forth all the time between Canada and England. He was pacing back and forth.12towards beginning towards the beginning of a book, film, or computer document etc: Turn back to the summaries at the end of section 1.5. Clicking on the icon will take you back to the previous web page. Wind the tape back to the beginning.back1 adverbback2 nounback3 verbback4 adjective
backback2 ●●● S1 W1 noun [countable] WORD ORIGINback2
Origin:
Old English bæcEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Megan has some trouble with her back.
- She had her hands tied behind her back.
- The cat wanted her back rubbed.
- What's written on the back?
- And lately, our defensive backs have responded with interceptions.
- Cashmere sports jackets hung on the back of their chairs, insurance against an encounter with air-conditioning.
- Martha came forward to help, and Miss Mary looked carefully at Colin's thin white back, up and down.
- The autopsy report said Woldemariam was shot twice in the back.
- The Leader and the thin man were seated on a pile of saddles and saddle-bags with their backs against the wall.
Longman Language Activatormoving backwards
moving or looking towards a place behind you: · He looked back over his shoulder.· I stepped back to let them pass.
also backward moving back and away from the direction in which you are facing: · Sarah fell backwards in the snow.· Can you skate backward?· Stepping backwards, Harry trod on the foot of the woman behind him.backwards and forwards: · She gently rocked the baby backwards and forwards.
to move backwards to walk backwards in a particular direction, especially in order to leave a room or building: · Hardy backed slowly toward the door.· Simms quietly backed out of the office, his face red with embarrassment.· When she was sure the baby was asleep, she backed softly through the bedroom door.
to walk slowly backwards, especially to get further away from someone or to avoid a dangerous situation: · "Are you crazy?'' she cried, backing away.back away from: · We slowly backed away from the rattlesnake.
especially American to move backwards a little, for example in order to give someone enough space to move: · Back up a bit so that everyone can see.· Can you back up a few steps so that I can open the door?
to walk backwards or away from the direction you were walking before, especially in order to avoid an embarrassing or unpleasant situation: · Jim saw me approaching and quickly retreated down a side street.retreat from/into/to etc: · "You haven't heard the last of this!'' shouted Spencer, retreating up the stairs.
to take one step or a few steps backwards: · Myers quickly stepped back into the house when he caught sight of us.· As the lights of a car approached he stepped back into the shadows.
to suddenly move part or all of your body backwards, away from something that is unpleasant or frightening: · She looked at the dead body and recoiled.recoil from: · She recoiled from his touch.
to move quickly and suddenly backwards in order to get away from someone, especially because you are upset, angry, or frightened: · When Helen took his arm he tried to pull away.· I tried to kiss her but she pulled away.
to make a vehicle go backwards especially British to drive a car or other vehicle backwards: · You'll have to reverse to let them pass.· He slowly reversed the van into the parking place.reverse out of/into/round etc: · As I approached the house a car reversed out of the driveway and sped off down the road.
especially American to drive a car or other vehicle backwards: · The car stopped and then began to back up.· Back the truck up a little more, will you?back up something: · Cindi backed up the car and stopped in front of the door.
to drive a car or other vehicle backwards, especially in order to get into or out of a space: back out/in/into: · I wouldn't park there -- it's going to be very difficult to back out again.back something out/in/into: · Morris carefully backed the truck into the shed.
the back part of something the part that is furthest from the front: · Someone crashed into the back of my car.· You can leave your bike around the back.· They walked past the back of the cottage.· Did you know you have paint on the back of your skirt?· "How do I turn the computer on?'' "There's a switch at the back.''
formal the back part of a building or vehicle: · Access to the kitchen is from the rear.· There are more seats at the rear of the theater.
the back of something flat · I wrote down her address on the back of an envelope.· He was trying to scrape the wax off with the back of a knife.on the back · If you look on the back, you'll see the artist's signature.· "I can't see the wine list.'' "It's on the back.''
· Write your name here and on the other side put your phone number.
the back side of something - used especially in written instructions or descriptions: · Sign the check on the reverse side.· The reverse side of the coin has the president's head on it.
at the back of something British /in the back especially American · I couldn't see very well because we were seated in the back.· There's something rotting at the back of the refrigerator.· I found your passport -- it was at the back of the drawer.
at the back of a building, room, or vehicle - used especially in instructions and written descriptions: · Passengers for Birmingham should sit at the rear of the train.· Brenda sat at the reception desk at the rear of the main hall.· A VW's engine is at the rear of the vehicle.
at the back of a car or other vehicle: · Just throw all your bags in the back.· Don't let the dog sit in the front -- he has to go in the back.· She couldn't see out of the rear window because of all the junk in the back of the truck.
also rear formal at the back of something, for example a building or car: · The burglars broke into the house through the back door.· The rear brakes are completely worn out.· You can put your suitcase on the back seat of the car.· They made their way toward the rear exit.· The rear carriage of the train is reserved for non-smokers.
at the back of something and usually hidden by it at or towards the back of something, and often hidden by it: · The sun went behind a cloud.· Put a cushion behind you. You'll feel more comfortable.· I got stuck behind a truck on the way to the airport.
British /in (the) back American behind something, especially a building: · There's a small garden at the back.· You can park your car in back.· Their house has a pool in the back.at the back of: · The tennis courts were at the back of the main school building.
written behind something, especially something large: at/to the rear of: · They parked in a small carpark at the rear of the hotel.· To the rear of the house is an old shed.
British informal to or in a place behind a building: · We need to go round the back. I don't have keys to the front door.
to force someone to do something · You don't have to come if you don't want to. Nobody's forcing you.force somebody to do something · Women's organizations are trying to force the government to appoint more women to senior positions.force somebody into doing something · Her parents are trying to force her into marrying a man she hardly knows.force somebody into something · I had never thought of buying an insurance policy, and I wasn't going to be forced into it by some young salesman.force somebody out of · Eddie feels that he was forced out of his job in order to make way for a younger man.
to force someone to do something that they do not want to do. Make is less formal than force: · I really didn't want to go, but she made me.make somebody do something: · I wanted to watch the film, but Dad made me do my homework.· Karen made him promise never to discuss the subject again.
to keep trying to persuade someone to do something, for example by saying that it is their duty or that it will help other people: put pressure on somebody to do something: · Our parents were putting pressure on us to get married.· Advertising puts pressure on parents to work long hours, in order to buy things that their children don't need.
also pressurise British, /pressure American to try to make someone do something by persuading them very strongly and making them feel that they should do it: · I'll get this done as soon as I can -- just don't pressure me, OK!· If she feels you're trying to pressurize her, she won't do it.pressurize/pressure somebody into doing something: · School children are often pressurized into studying very hard from an early age by their parents.· The committee pressured him into resigning.pressure somebody to do something: · Her boyfriend is pressuring her to have an abortion.
to strongly encourage someone to do something: push somebody to do something: · My parents keep pushing me to get a good job.push somebody into doing something: · Don't let them push you into a making a decision before you're ready.push somebody into something: · Are you sure you want to marry me? I don't want to push you into anything.
to force someone to do what you want them to do by repeatedly asking them to do it until they finally agree: · The salesman tried browbeating me but it didn't work.browbeat somebody into (doing) something: · The miners were browbeaten into working in a part of the mine that the company knew to be dangerous.· I really didn't want to make this speech -- I was browbeaten into it by my colleagues.
an attempt to force someone to do something, by making them feel guilty for not doing it: · She's always using emotional blackmail and playing on other people's feelings.· Any relationship that has to depend on emotional blackmail can't be a healthy one.
informal if someone is breathing down your neck about something, they keep asking you to do it in order to make you do it sooner: · I'm already really busy today, and now Paul's breathing down my neck saying he wants the Paris deal completed.have somebody breathing down your neck: · We'd better start sending out those letters soon -- I've had the sales manager breathing down my neck about it all week.
informal to be trying to make someone do something they do not want to do, especially by telling them several times to do it: · Nick knew that the coach would be on his back if he missed another training session.be on sb's back about: · Aunt Mimi was always on his back about him "wasting time playing that silly guitar".
to have got rid of something or somebody to have got rid of someone or something, so that they are not there to worry or annoy you: · At first I was glad to be rid of the extra work, but then I realized how much money I was losing.· The sooner we're rid of this government the better.· You shouldn't even think about buying a new car until you're rid of your current debts.
British informal to be very pleased you have got rid of something or someone: · I'll be glad to see the back of this project.· We will be glad to see the back of Williams, that's for sure.
to hit someone in a friendly way etc to hit someone on the back with the flat part of your hand, for example as a friendly greeting or in order to praise them: · "How are you? I haven't seen you for ages," she said, slapping Jim on the back.· The coach said "Well done!'' and clapped each player on the back as they entered the changing room.
to gently hit someone, usually on their back, shoulder, or head, in order to praise them or show them that you like them: · Roz reached over and patted her hand.· He got up, patted her on the shoulder, and gave her a quick kiss.
to offend someone to make someone angry or upset by doing something that they think is socially or morally unacceptable or by being rude to them: · The programme contains scenes that may offend older viewers.· She stopped mid-sentence, anxious not to offend him.· He didn't speak during the meeting for fear of saying something that might offend.offend (somebody's) sensibilities: · He is a sensitive man, and it is not difficult to offend his sensibilities.
to make someone very angry and upset, for example by doing something that shows you have little respect for them or do not think that they are very good at something: · In some cultures, you insult your host if you do not accept their offer of food.insult somebody by doing something: · I won't insult you by explaining the rules of the game.insult somebody's intelligence (=treat someone as if they are stupid): · questions that insult the intelligence of the interviewee
British informal to make someone annoyed, especially without intending to: · It really gets my back up when salesmen call round to the house.· He treats everyone like children, and that's why he puts people's backs up.
to offend someone - use this about words or actions that were not intended to offend anyone: · He later appeared on television to apologize for causing offence.cause offence to: · I hope I didn't cause offence to anyone when I left early.cause great offence: · A remark that is considered humorous in one culture can cause great offence in another.
to talk about other people's private lives to spend time talking without a serious purpose, usually about other people's private lives or behaviour: · It's best not to tell Frank anything. You know how he gossips.gossip about: · Those two old ladies sit there every day, gossiping about everyone in town.
if you say that people talk , you mean that they talk about other people's private lives and behaviour, usually in a disapproving way: · We mustn't be seen together in public again. People are starting to talk.
to talk about someone when they are not present: · I hate people who talk about you behind your back and then pretend to be nice to you when they meet you.
used for saying that many people are talking about someone's private life in an unkind or disapproving way: · Tongues are wagging about Hollywood's newest couple.set tongues wagging (=cause people to start talking about you): · Thurmond's marriage so soon after his wife died set tongues wagging.
to turn your head or your body to turn your head or body so that you are looking in a different direction: · Campbell turned and walked out of the room.turn to: · "What do you think we should do?" she said, turning to her husband.turn to do something: · She heard the door opening and turned to see who was coming in.
also turn round British to turn your body so that you are looking in the opposite direction: · Ian, turn round and face the front!· I turned around quickly to see if anyone was following me.· "Does my dress look OK?" "Turn around and let me see the back."
to turn so that you are no longer facing someone, especially because you want to avoid them: · Alice turned away with tears in her eyes.· The scene was so sickening I had to turn away.turn away from: · She frowned and turned away from him without speaking.
to turn so that you are no longer facing someone, especially because you are angry or disappointed, or because you are deliberately ignoring them: · As soon as I turn my back, the children start to misbehave.turn your back on: · Don't turn your back on me - I'm talking to you!· She turned her back on him and began to walk away.
to turn your head in order to look at someone or in order to look away from someone: · She turned her head to avoid making eye contact with the beggar.· Whenever Suzie walks into a room all the men immediately turn their heads.
to quickly and suddenly turn, especially before walking away: · David angrily turned on his heel and marched towards the door.· When her ex-husband entered the room, she turned on her heel and left.
also swing round British to turn around suddenly and quickly, especially because you are angry or surprised: · He swung around at the sound of her voice and smiled at her.· I felt a hand on my shoulder and swung round quickly to find Chris standing behind me.
also spin round British to turn around very quickly, especially because you are angry or because something unexpected has suddenly happened: · The sudden crash made her spin round and look back down the passage.· Dobbs yelled back and spun around with clenched fists, ready to fight.
to turn around quickly as if you are fixed to a central point, or when you are sitting in a chair which can turn round: · Ralph swivelled in his chair and looked directly at Meg.swivel aroundalso + round British: · Mr Tench swivelled round in astonishment as the men burst through his office door.
WORD SETSantique, nounarm, nounarmchair, nounback, nounbeanbag, nounbed, nounbedhead, nounbedpost, nounbedstead, nounbookcase, nounbookshelf, nounbuffet, nounbunk, nounbureau, nouncanopy, nouncard table, nouncarrycot, nouncart, nouncatchall, nounchair, nounchaise longue, nounchesterfield, nounchest of drawers, nouncoat rack, nouncoatstand, nouncoffee table, nouncommode, nouncot, nouncouch, nouncounter, nouncupboard, noundeckchair, noundesk, noundining table, noundivan, noundouble bed, noundrawer, noundresser, noundustsheet, nouneasy chair, nounescritoire, nounfireguard, nounfirescreen, nounfitment, nounfitted, adjectivefloor lamp, nounfoldaway, adjectivefolding, adjectivefootrest, nounfootstool, nounfour-poster bed, nounfuton, nounGeorgian, adjectivegramophone, noungrandfather clock, noungrate, nounhat stand, nounheadboard, nounheadrest, nounhighboy, nounhighchair, nounhorsehair, nounhot tub, nounhutch, nounJacuzzi, nounlamp, nounlampshade, nounlawn chair, nounleg, nounlooking glass, nounlove seat, nounmattress, nounnightlight, nounnightstand, nounoccasional table, nounottoman, nounpadded, adjectivepedestal, nounpouffe, nounradiogram, nounrocker, nounrocking chair, nounrococo, adjectiveseat, nounsettee, nounshelf, nounshelving, nounsideboard, nounslipcover, nounsofa, nounsofa bed, nounsprung, adjectivestand, nounstandard lamp, nounstool, nounstuffing, nounsuite, nounswivel chair, nountable, nountallboy, nountea chest, nounthree-piece suite, nounthrone, nountwin bed, noununit, nounupholster, verbupholstery, nounveneer, nounveneered, adjectivewardrobe, nounwashstand, nounwaterbed, nounWelsh dresser, nounwindow seat, nounwork-surface, nounwriting desk, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY He lay on his back and gazed at the ceiling. Johnny was lying flat on his back in the middle of the floor. Anna stood with her back to the window. a T-shirt with a picture of a snake on the back He tried to push these uncomfortable thoughts to the back of his mind. I should have realized that he’d go behind my back (=do something without telling me). Do me a favour and get off my back! I can’t wait to see the back of this project, I can tell you (=I will be happy when it ends).COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES The dog arched its back. He choked back tears as he described what had happened. High heels are coming back into fashion. He was getting a crick in his neck from leaning out of the window for so long. He was born in Utah but went to college back East. I spent all morning looking for a suitable present, but came home empty-handed. The first petrol-driven car was produced as far back as 1883. She looked away, fighting back her tears. That night I lay flat on my back and stared up at the ceiling. The Church will welcome him back into the fold. Janet forced back her tears. Life was beginning to get back to normal. I couldn’t get back to sleep. We go back a long way (=we have been friends for a long time). Delors claimed that the president had gone back on his word. an error that would come back to haunt them for years to come Will you be back here tonight? I’m backing the PM to the hilt on this. She struggled to hold back her tears. Now that the crisis is over, we must try to get things back on an even keel. She was struggling to keep back the tears. I grew up here; I know the place like the back of my hand (=I know it very well). He is famed for his laid-back attitude. a network of alleys and back lanes (=narrow unimportant roads, often behind a row of houses) Looking back on it, I still can’t figure out what went wrong. city workers who want to get back to nature in their holidays Henry kicked the ball into the back of the net. Thankfully, train services are now back to normal. After Ray’s operation, Mrs Stallard nursed him back to health. Companies can plough back their profits into new equipment. In the second half Leeds came roaring back with two goals in five minutes. I took a vacation to try to recover my sanity. Tina Turner’s backing singers (=people who sing with her) The police are now back at square one in their investigation. Alastair woke with a stiff neck. He was swinging his bag back and forth. I was paid £1,000, which was a lot of money back then (=a long time ago when things were different) in the 1950s. It’s too far to drive there and back in one day. I tie my hair back when I’m jogging. He took the engine apart and then put it back together again. We’ve promised to help, and there’s no turning back (=you cannot change this)! Welcome back – it’s good to see you again. The kids were playing in the back yard.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
He lay on his back and gazed at the ceiling. Johnny was lying flat on his back in the middle of the floor. Anna stood with her back to the window. (=carried on someone’s back) The girl appeared again, now with a little baby on her back.
The girl appeared again, now with a little baby on her back. a T-shirt with a picture of a snake on the back American English (=in or at the back of something) Kids should always wear seat belts, even in back.
Kids should always wear seat belts, even in back. American English (=behind a house or other building) Tom’s working on the car out back.
Tom’s working on the car out back. British English (=behind a house or building) Have you looked round the back?
Have you looked round the back? He tried to push these uncomfortable thoughts to the back of his mind. I should have realized that he’d go behind my back (=do something without telling me). Do me a favour and get off my back! I can’t wait to see the back of this project, I can tell you (=I will be happy when it ends). (also renege on an agreement formal) (=not do what you agreed to do)· Republican leaders accused Democrats of trying to renege on an agreement to have a House vote.
The dog arched its back. (=a brace that supports the neck etc) He was being fitted for a back brace.
He was being fitted for a back brace. (also catch your breath) (=start breathing normally again)· He leant against a tree until he had got his breath back.
(=make it move backwards)· Suzy backed the car into the driveway.
· He leant back in his chair and took out his pipe.
(=in order to get up)· He pushed back his chair and stood up.
· The chair leg has broken.
He choked back tears as he described what had happened. (=support it)· They challenged him to back up his claims with evidence.
High heels are coming back into fashion.· The doctors were unable to bring her back to consciousness.
(=made in case the original is lost)· Be sure you regularly make back-up copies of your data.
· The price of the book is on the back cover.
He was getting a crick in his neck from leaning out of the window for so long. (=open them)· Would you mind opening the curtains?
(=decide not to make a deal after discussing one)· Twenty-five jobs were lost after their partner pulled out of the deal.
· You'll get your deposit back when all the bills have been paid.
· When I left, the landlord refused to give me my deposit back.
(=of a house)· I heard someone knocking at the front door.· Use the back door if your boots are muddy.
He was born in Utah but went to college back East.· I banged my elbow on the front edge of the desk.
I spent all morning looking for a suitable present, but came home empty-handed.· There is a long drive with steps leading to the front entrance.
(=used to describe a calculation or plan that is written down quickly on any available small piece of paper)· She scribbled a few ideas on the back of an envelope.
The first petrol-driven car was produced as far back as 1883. (=become fashionable again)· Short skirts are coming back into fashion this year.
She looked away, fighting back her tears. That night I lay flat on my back and stared up at the ceiling. The Church will welcome him back into the fold. (=of an animal)· The horse lifted its back foot.
Janet forced back her tears. (=discover new things)
British English (=behind a house)· The children are playing in the back garden.
(=the gate in front of or at the back of a building)· She stood outside the front gate of the cottage.
Life was beginning to get back to normal. I couldn’t get back to sleep. We go back a long way (=we have been friends for a long time). Delors claimed that the president had gone back on his word. (=one that gives you back the money you paid if there is a problem)· The company offers a 30-day, money-back guarantee on all its products.
(=the outside surface of your hand)· Let a dog sniff the back of your hand, rather than your fingers.
an error that would come back to haunt them for years to come Will you be back here tonight? I’m backing the PM to the hilt on this. She struggled to hold back her tears. Now that the crisis is over, we must try to get things back on an even keel. She was struggling to keep back the tears.· She felt in her pocket for the front door key.
I grew up here; I know the place like the back of my hand (=I know it very well). He is famed for his laid-back attitude. a network of alleys and back lanes (=narrow unimportant roads, often behind a row of houses)· Have you taken those books back to the library?
(=give back the money you borrowed, usually over a period of time)· You can repay the loan early without a penalty.
Looking back on it, I still can’t figure out what went wrong. (also rekindle/revive memories formal) (=make you remember something)· For many older people, the film brought back memories of the war.
(=you suddenly remember things clearly)· Evelyn hugged her daughter, as memories came flooding back to her.
(also refund somebody’s money) (=give money back to a customer)· We regret that we are unable to refund money on tickets.
city workers who want to get back to nature in their holidays Henry kicked the ball into the back of the net. Thankfully, train services are now back to normal. After Ray’s operation, Mrs Stallard nursed him back to health. (=used to say when or how something began)· The school’s origins go back to the 12th century.
(=of a newspaper)· Her picture was on the front page of every newspaper.
· Many people suffer from back pain.
Companies can plough back their profits into new equipment.· He took a wad of money from his back pocket.
· He was born with heart problems.
(=break it)· They were angry that the company had gone back on its promise.
· Not one of these organizations supports the government's proposals.
· Get to the back of the queue!
(=make them realize what is happening around them or true)· She was brought back to reality by the pain in her ankle.
(=rent you owe for an earlier period)· Mrs Carr said she is still owed several thousand dollars in back rent.
(=a small road that is not used much)· He drove into a quiet side road and stopped the car.
In the second half Leeds came roaring back with two goals in five minutes. I took a vacation to try to recover my sanity. (=in a car)· Never leave bags on the back seat of a car.
· The audience clapped as he returned to his seat.
Tina Turner’s backing singers (=people who sing with her) (=sleep again after waking up)· He shut his eyes and went back to sleep.
The police are now back at square one in their investigation. (=used when you start something again because you were not successful the first time) Okay, let’s go back to square one and try again.
Okay, let’s go back to square one and try again. Alastair woke with a stiff neck. (=a small quiet street near the main street)· The restaurant is tucked away in a side street.
· Somehow I just knew in the end we would get back to the subject of money.
He was swinging his bag back and forth. (=not cry even though you feel like crying)· She gave her version of events, often struggling to hold back the tears.
(=try not to cry)· She fought back tears yesterday as she re-lived the horrors she had seen.
I was paid £1,000, which was a lot of money back then (=a long time ago when things were different) in the 1950s. It’s too far to drive there and back in one day. I tie my hair back when I’m jogging. He took the engine apart and then put it back together again.· Some of his front teeth were missing.
We’ve promised to help, and there’s no turning back (=you cannot change this)! (=make it show an earlier time)· On Saturday night, don’t forget to put your watch back an hour.
Welcome back – it’s good to see you again.· Stand well back from the edge of the platform.
· The rear wheels of the bus got stuck in a creek.
· The burglar had got in through one of the back windows.
· His doctor agreed he was fit enough to return to work.
The kids were playing in the back yard.· He had a bad back as well, you know, just like Rich.· The problems-from bad backs to carpal tunnel syndrome to headaches-have made the headlines of every health magazine in the country.· That coming from him who would go sick with a bad back whenever a job tired him.· I have met knitters with bad backs, frozen shoulders, tennis elbows and so on from doing to much knitting at a time.· A bad back sidelined him for six games in 1996 but he has been healthy through most of this year.· He was a thin, thin-faced man and a bad back suited his dignity.
· Spurs' humiliation was compounded when Lineker mis-kicked wildly a few feet in front of goal and fell flat on his back.· Even when the economy in the Midwest came back in the late eighties, labor was still flat on its back.· Lie flat on your back and cycle backwards with the legs 30 times.· What else would he need if he were going to be flat on his back or stomach?· Lie flat on your back and bend the knees. 12.· Rosa was sitting on the floor of his flat with her back against his legs.· Lying flat on your back, bend the knees, then raise the legs. 14.· Lie flat on your back and loosen up your hip.
· Both sides of the body are compared, as well as the balance between front and back of thigh.· During gastrulation the front and back, top and bottom become evident, and the basic body plan is laid down.· The garden or gardens, front and back.· Different sweeps - sideways, front and back, or up and down - each alter different musical attributes.· Each section flies a zig-zag from here to the Front and back.· Finally, a pleasantly-grained veneer of dark ash has been used as a finish on the front and back of the headstock.· The two front seat backs tilt forward and make life easier for people climbing into the rear.· Straight on, either front or back, the human being tends to look somewhat banal.
NOUN· On the way back he picked up two lost Zeros who followed him back.· Following instructions, I seasoned with so much sodium that my face all the way back beyond my ears puckered up.· Worcester's motto is the faithful city because we were involved in certain civil wars way back.· Then the car swung all the way back, full circle, the lanes of the freeway streaking under me.· I did so and I was the one who bought the half-bottle of brandy at the off-licence on the way back.· On our way back we called in at the field centre, a converted ex-shunter's cabin.· And they weren't worth transporting all the way back.· It seems that he had a breakdown on the way back and had to walk.
VERB· She arched her back to aid him.· But at that time, biologists also saw sick, disoriented manatees acting strangely by curling their lips and arching their backs.· The wetness of his tongue as it slipped over them made Kate arch her back with delight.· Vic arched his back and rolled his shoulders and seemed about to yawn.· With her touch he arched his back and made a whimpering sound.· Slowly arch the back and lift the chest and head upwards and back.· Try not to arch the back during this exercise.
· Once the land round it was worked, but no one these days would break his back over soil so rocky and barren.· His two interceptions Sunday broke the back of the Pittsburgh Steelers as Dallas won the duel in the desert, 27-17.· Then Halfon broke his back in a construction accident.· But he suffered two fractured vertebrae in his neck and a broken lower back in a crash during practice two weeks ago.· Their thunderous charges have broken the back of many an invading army.· It is going to break my back, both of us know it, and there is no choice.· That was the straw which broke the camel's back and in the following 16 minutes United's game fell apart.· Like the steeplechase where Vronsky breaks his mare's back with reckless riding, you can only wait for the pistol shot.
· But yes, I had. Hit in the back.· Police said Stanton was hit on the back of the head with a gun during the ordeal.· The first bullet hit him in the back, severing his spine.· Two fingers hit the back of the opposite hand amidst ribald guffaws.· In Bath last Wednesday, one hit him on the back of the neck and a woman was arrested.· She said she hit the back of her hand on the platen and then everything went black.· Could there have been a fight causing him to fall and hit the back of his head on something?· The spent casings were hitting the back of me, and the concussion was pushing my head down.
· I lay on my back with my legs in the air and pushed.· But Tho was lying on his back in the water, clutching his rifle, his arms wide-flung.· As a girl she had lain always on her back, proud, determined.· So he lay on his back next to her, his head on the other pillow.· Now, you get down from the chair and lie on your back on the bench.· They lie on their backs in a trailer, a big one and a small one, looking more asleep than dead.· A pair of trousers lay across the back of a chair and his pyjamas were stuffed untidily beneath the pillow.· I lay on my back and stared at it.
· The manager patted Stuart on the back.· He patted backs and bought drinks, working the room in political style.· This time I patted myself on the back all the way to the hotel.· After his address, Houston worked the crowd, shaking hands, patting backs.· I patted him on the back as hard as I dared but he still couldn't breathe.· Every person on the street will pat you on the back.· How dare she wave her bloody job at us like she wanted us to pat her on the back for it?· Cliff Nudelman pats me on the back.
· Better than that was riding on his back while he went down on hands and knees and neighed like a horse.· Or you can ride on my back, if you prefer.· The story told of a Canelos-owned truck that overturned on a highway, killing 21 farmworkers who were riding in the back.· Branch manager Richard Fairhurst took a back seat for the day, as he rode along on the back of a tandem.· Power can not ride on an upright back.· The devil riding my back dug his hard pointy heels into my flesh, but I stayed my ground.· Dostoevsky wanted to stifle the thought that he was riding on the back of Nechacv's perverse glamour.
· Shannon rolled on to her back, staring through tear-glazed eyes at the ceiling.· Then he purred and stretched; he rolled over on his back.· Donna rolled on to her back, her eyes half-closed, her limbs numb.· The cat rolls on to its back and pushes itself farther into the light.· On the opposite bank, Luke rolled off her back and lay on the grass.· Danskin rolled over on his back, his belly heaving.· I rolled on my back, stuck my legs in the air and laughed.· Lucky had rolled on his back while he waited.
· He and Helga sat at the back of the class, groping each other up in a flurry of smirks and giggles.· I sat in the back of her bicycle.· It is comforting to hear your team-mates shouting their encouragement during a contest. Sit with your back straight and head erect.· Unlike the other candidates, he is always ready to sit in the back of his bus shooting the breeze with reporters.· But Lynnette D'Armande turned her chair round and sat with her back to Broadway.· The red enameled kettle always sits on the back of the stove.
· She slapped him on the back.· He slapped my back and said, Maybe so.· Forbes slapped me on the back.· He slapped my back, slapped my butt, then kneaded my flesh.· She intended to slap Elisabeth on the back, but she was too late.· Jack said, and he slapped Streeter on the back of the head with his gun hand.· His father managed to clear the obstruction by slapping Christopher on his back 7 times.· He rushed over and slapped me on the back as I lifted a highball to my lips.
· There was nobody else except two strangers who were standing at the back of the church.· He entered the room where the wheelchair stood folded at the back of the tiny cedar closet.· I was standing with my back to the aviary, my jacket almost touching the wire mesh, still puzzled.· McMurphy whoops and drags me standing, pounding my back.· Then she closed the door again and stood with her back against it.· Go to a wall and stand straight with your back against it.· Dexter stood at the back of the conference suite behind the video cameras and serried ranks of reporters.· Two young men have walked in late and are standing around the back of the classroom, halfheartedly looking for seats.
· Dangling from it were two thin cords to be tied at the back.· It lifted the accused by a rope around his wrists, which were tied behind his back.· Of 23 bodies she saw, all had been shot in the head with their hands tied behind their backs.· His hands were tied behind his back and he was roped to Kate, whose hands were also bound.· Then I began to realize that my hands were tied behind my back and my legs were also secured to something.· Their hands were tied behind their backs and they were gagged.· They were astride a single horse, tied back to back, being led along a skyline by the sheriff's posse.
· Sir Henry was able to scorn convention because he had turned his back on the world.· Alone on the streets, Ezra turned his back.· Why not simply take the hint and turn his back on the village once and for all?· He turned his back to him and opening up his store.· So in the end I turned my back on it and walked away.· If Miguel were excommunicated, Careta would probably turn his back on him if he saw him on the street.· Disillusioned with the ruthlessly ambitious woman he had married, Richard had long ago turned his back on her.· Hicks moved closer to the stove, partly turning his back on her.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► be glad/delighted/pleased etc to see the back of somebody/something► have your back to/against the wall► high-backed/straight-backed/low-backed etcPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► get in through the back door► back seat driver► bite something ↔ back► bring something ↔ back► bring something ↔ back► bring something ↔ back► bring somebody ↔ back► put/leave something on the back burner► call (somebody) back► cut something ↔ back► back in the day► lie back and think of England► fight something ↔ back► get somebody back► get something ↔ back► the clocks go back► can do something with one hand (tied) behind your back► go to hell and back► keep something ↔ back► keep something ↔ back► keep somebody ↔ back► keep something ↔ back► my head/back etc is killing me► knock something ↔ back► knock somebody back something► knock somebody back► it fell off the back of a lorry► a monkey on your back► pull something ↔ back► put your back out► put somebody/something ↔ back► put something ↔ back► put something ↔ back► put a clock/watch back► rick your back/neck► I’ll be right with you/right there/right back► put the roses back in somebody’s cheeks► you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours► be glad/pleased etc to see the back of somebody/something► set somebody/something ↔ back► take something ↔ back► take something ↔ back► take somebody back► like water off a duck’s back
1part of your body a)the part of the body between the neck and legs, on the opposite side to the stomach and chest: - Dan appeared in jeans, wearing his cap backward as usual.
- You've got your sweater on back to front.
- And can you fool them, by planting them back to front?
- But supposing X-rays were normally displayed back to front or the way one looked at the person?
- I had an arrow right through my body from back to front somewhere in the region of my lower ribs.
- It was all wrong and back to front, but no one could say the old baggage lacked for courage.
- Papers are missing from each and the sheets inside have been turned back to front, and at angles.
- Row 1: Bring needle from back to front of work through the stitch below the first stitch to be worked.
- The crowd was crammed shoulder to shoulder and back to front on the shrinking piece of roadway.
- They're boys' hips, girls' hips, front to front, back to front.
- Do you think people are talking about you behind your back?
- He agrees with his boss to his face, but then criticizes him behind his back.
- His name is Mr McLeod, but his students call him "Big Nose'' behind his back.
- I'm not happy about you going behind my back like that. You should have told me.
- I'm sure the other girls are talking about me behind my back.
- I thought you were my friend. Now I find you've been talking about me behind my back.
- People laughed at him behind his back.
- Once, despite the age requirement, my sister charms her way on to this ride while my back is turned.
- He treats everyone like children, and that's why he puts people's backs up.
- It really gets my back up when salesmen call round to the house.
- At Eagle Butte I stopped and got a clamp, got the pipe back up there some way.
- He had been around the scene for long enough to know how to manipulate meetings without getting everyone's back up.
- If you get his/her back up, even if you're right, you're dead!
- She'd even got Bert's back up proper, over his betting and poor old Floss.
- Simon naturally put people's backs up.
- You got to get back up.
- Electioneering, he had talked tough about getting government off the backs of the people.
- Even if that had happened, it didn't justify the violence of Steen's attempts to get Jacqui off his back.
- He had a chance now to tell on Lee, to get him off his back, out of Jubilee Wood.
- Ian denies all but tells them about Mel sleeping with Phil to get them off his back.
- It would have been a good excuse to use to get Mr Parnham off his back.
- Maybe he figured the only way to get her off his back was to confess.
- She got the revolver off the back seat and put it into the glove compartment with the cartridges.
- Aunt Mimi was always on his back about him "wasting time playing that silly guitar".
- Nick knew that the coach would be on his back if he missed another training session.
- The boss has been on my back about that report.
- By this time the Confederates had formed into columns and were on the march back to Corinth, Mississippi.
- He must be on his way back by now.
- Her eyes opened; she was on her back.
- His father was on his back night and day.
- Instead of automated leisure, enforced unemployment was on its way back.
- Seeing that stately building on a hill and knowing the respirator center was on the back with the water view heartened me.
- The afternoon papers are on the back seat and he reads them until the limousine stops in front of a funeral home.
- Their other project, meanwhile, is on the back burner.
- Captions Never write directly on the back of a photograph.
- Clubs also look set to be given the option of having players' names on the back of their shirts.
- I feel moist breath on the back of my neck, and fingers touch my arm.
- It was strange to see his bag on the back of another caddie.
- Jack said, and he slapped Streeter on the back of the head with his gun hand.
- Mr Gregson took me home, jolting on the back of the wagon.
- Somebody runs out of the crowd and hits Mowat on the back of the neck.
- For a while she stood next to the coal stove and warmed her hands on the backs of her legs.
- He ignores the kids whose feet are propped on the backs of chairs.
- In toads, for instance, the males sit on the backs of females for a few days before the female lays her eggs.
- It is clearly unfair that so much tax in the Third World falls on the backs of those least able to pay.
- John Betjeman scribbled verses on the backs of envelopes and read them aloud in his car.
- Palm trees sway on the backs of countless cotton shirts.
- Print your music on candy wrappers or on the backs of daguerreotypes.
- The wood for the hedge arrived not on the backs of the hedge-builders but in the boot of their Ford Cortina.
- His early comedies might have been taken to represent an unheard-of civility from the back of beyond.
- Larky jaunts to the back of beyond returned to fashion with the 1980s boom in travel writing.
- Whatever anyone says about muggings and suchlike up here, there'd be no one about at all in the back of beyond.
- He's been flat on his back in the hospital for a week.
- After I was on its back, we all took off again on a run.
- Her eyes opened; she was on her back.
- His father was on his back night and day.
- The child was on her back, unconscious.
- The jelly cupboard was on its back, its contents lying in a heap in the corner of the bottom shelf.
- The result is that the liter pop bottle you tossed out six months ago may be on your back today.
- The sun was on his back as he swung himself over her and her long legs parted in expectation.
- What else would he need if he were going to be flat on his back or stomach?
- Come on, John. Stop messing around and put your back into it!
- I really put my back into it, you know?
- Caesar marched into Rome with an army at his back.
- Run into the wind so it's at your back as you return.
- He felt the wide gaze of the french windows at his back and the awareness put his timing out.
- I hear the whip at his back compelling him to shed his will, to stay in line.
- She could tell this by looking at his back as he stood at the bar ordering more drinks.
- She stared at his back view in exasperation.
- She wants a phalanx of allies at her back before she climbs those stairs again.
- Staring at his back, she tried to conjure up the image of him lover-like, tender, and failed.
- The pub blazed at my back as I walked off.
- When Schmidt tapped the chauffeur's arm, the man pressed a button that raised a glass panel at his back.
- For a lew moments I lay spread-eagled on my back, unable to change position.
- Forget Michelangelo, lying on his back high above the Sistine Chapel floor to paint his famous frescoes.
- He lay grinning up at me on the water, spreadeagled on his back with his arms splayed.
- He took Deianira on his back and in midstream insulted her.
- It appears to be a board-room decision and not his so let's not get on his back too quick.
- She lay on her back and laughed at the sky.
- Thousands of people have been practicing step aerobics, but over-enthusiasm could leave them flat on their backs.
- I was hurt that she'd left, but I guess at the back of my mind I always knew she would.
- There was always a slight feeling of fear at the back of his mind.
- Two rows of chairs were arranged back to back.
- We did three performances back to back that day.
- His first interview recently was at 8 a. m. and his appointments were scheduled back to back until midnight.
- His life is an endless stream of interviews and news conferences, often back to back.
- Orlando and Vancouver, back to back.
- The other three will be placed back to back with them inside.
- The three nomes stood back to back.
- They were astride a single horse, tied back to back, being led along a skyline by the sheriff's posse.
- This idea works well using such designs as L-shapes, placed back to back to resemble book ends.
- Two sofas placed back to back in the centre of a space can often define the divisions of space very well.
- Women have often been forced to take a back seat in society.
- And very generally, the interests of lenders in New York take a back seat to the interests of the corporate borrowers.
- But when they were introduced, everything upstairs had to take a back seat.
- He notes, however, that economic considerations are taking a back seat to budget negotiations.
- If you can't agree to disagree, then take a back seat and let others have their way on this occasion.
- It was also a year when investment bankers took a back seat.
- Many feel reluctant to take a back seat and allow their children to enjoy the special attractiveness of the teens and twenties.
- Mr Peters has now taken a back seat.
- That her family had taken a back seat in her life.
- A sweetheart, this little lady, not bad legs either.
- For Joshua, at sixty-two, and suffering from a bad leg, distances had begun to take on an extraordinary significance.
- He had a bad back as well, you know, just like Rich.
- He had a bad leg and they kept on at him to hurry up.
- Medical deferment for a very bad heart.
- That coming from him who would go sick with a bad back whenever a job tired him.
- The problems-from bad backs to carpal tunnel syndrome to headaches-have made the headlines of every health magazine in the country.
- A constructive response to the Howie Report would be more pertinent than saloon-bar simplicities about getting back to basics.
- His party claims to be the party of law and order, the family, back to basics.
- In other words, forget your fancy gender studies: the neo-Darwinists were marching us back to basics.
- Last Wednesday was all about back to basics and glimpses of optimism.
- Now, however, it seems that the route to success may once again involve going back to basics.
- This month's personal finance column therefore takes a back to basics look at expatriate tax.
- Try to counter nervousness by getting right back to basics.
- I noticed that his hands were trembling slightly, and he seemed to be blinking back tears.
- She needed to blink away tears.
- Touching the welt, Howard tried to blink back tears before going inside.
- A combination of ground and air action broke the back of the rebellion.
- His two interceptions Sunday broke the back of the Pittsburgh Steelers as Dallas won the duel in the desert, 27-17.
- In Czechoslovakia last March Martin Keown nearly broke the back of the net with a long-range effort.
- It would have been nice for him to wind things up by breaking the back of Britain's opposition to integration.
- Pouring over its latest simulation runs, Sun is confident it has broken the back of the technical problem.
- Their thunderous charges have broken the back of many an invading army.
- Food brought me back to the human face.
- He had felt ashamed the first time he put it on: it brought him back to his ugliness.
- Polishing with a soft cloth will bring the surface back to life.
- She brings the papers back to her office and shuts the door.
- This brings us back to the expressive order.
- We must bring that cup back to Oxfordshire.
- Which brings us back to red wine.
- Which brings us back to why this period is one of some urgency.
- After appearing to be in terminal decline the monarchy is back in business.
- By the summer of 1992 the dress patrols were back in business.
- Last week, Peron was back in business, with a few cosmetic changes.
- Male speaker We're setting up in another hangar and hope to be back in business soon.
- Nice to see Dave Hill's barber is back in business.
- Stop Press: Liverpool is back in business.
- The company was back in business.
- The Cumberland Tavern - now under new management - is back in business as a rock venue.
- Cast you mind back a few weeks to the Athletics Championship in Armagh.
- He frowned, casting his mind back over the conversation they had held.
- Henry cast his mind back to the fateful evening.
- Lisa, if you cast your mind back, I think you'll recall that it was your idea.
- Again, more in control of matters, he cast his mind back.
- He cast his mind back to his homecoming earlier that evening.
- He racked his brains, he cast his mind back.
- I cast my mind back to our excited departure from Gatwick airport.
- Let us cast our minds back to the referendum.
- If I could turn the clock back, I don't think I'd study law again.
- It would be nice to put the clock back to the years when Mum and Dad were still alive.
- He thinks you can turn the clock back.
- It was almost like turning the clock back a couple of centuries.
- Not unless they fell into Morton's hands. Turn the clock back.
- Or not lie, maybe. Turn the clock back.
- The most important thing now is not to turn the clock back.
- This great divide can not be bridged by turning the clock back.
- We can not turn the clock back.
- What is past is past and you can not turn the clock back.
- Anyway, even if one wanted to, one couldn't put the clock back to an earlier age.
- I can't put the clock back.
- They were therefore accused of putting the clock back and bringing the best hope of Christendom to an impasse.
- I, like many other riders, am eagerly awaiting the clocks going forward.
- Police say they had to enforce the law after 1am when the clocks went forward an hour.
- When the clocks go back in late October it will be dark by five o'clock in the afternoon.
- It's a back-handed compliment really, you know.
- A few weeks later Patrick Ashby came back from the dead and went home to inherit the family house and fortune.
- Friends don't come back from the dead, Leila thought, rampaging through the corridor from the canteen.
- The single engine airplane business came back from the dead after the General Aviation Revitalization Act made it harder to sue.
- When Cardiff had come back from the dead, he had shrunk away back down the hessian-screen corridor towards Rohmer.
- Voters rejected the bridge expansion plan, so it's back to the drawing board for city engineers.
- For San Jose, it was back to the drawing board.
- So Superman, once the most recognized and revered hero in comic books, was sent back to the drawing board.
- Sometimes, you also have to go back to the drawing board.
- The Cta episode has therefore sent the whole idea of direct dating of petroglyphs back to the drawing board.
- They must go back to the drawing board and review the whole of youth training.
- They want to see the road plan sent back to the drawing board.
- You also could go back to the drawing board with that budget, trying to reduce costs.
- You have to discard the propeller engine and go back to the drawing board.
- Adai can come back to Earth after Gog is dead - after I am dead, perhaps.
- AIr travellers came down to earth with a bump yesterday when they joined in some charity aerobics.
- In Karuzi you quickly come down to earth.
- Maybe, but the once pricey products that use this satellite technology have come down to earth.
- Peter Lilley came down to earth.
- They recently have come down to Earth.
- When you're looking after a two year old, you need to have eyes in the back of your head.
- You need to have eyes in the back of your head to be a teacher.
- Arthur was flat on his back under the car.
- I've been flat on my back with the flu all week.
- Babs said it was all very well but had he forgotten their leading man was flat on his back in Sefton General?
- What else would he need if he were going to be flat on his back or stomach?
- But we are reliably informed that Angus will be back on his feet and more importantly that seat tomorrow.
- He got back on his feet, and they all made another parade around the stage.
- In those early years, Macey helped Dole literally get back on his feet.
- It was an inexpensive, safe, stable environment for families while they got back on their feet.
- Never got back on her feet again, really.
- The Mirror Group would soon be back on its feet.
- We can get back on our feet.
- There's no going back, even if I wanted to, which I don't.
- Too late you realize that there's no going back.
- For Casey, there was no holding back when it came to music.
- I had to eat with one hand and hold the hair back with the other-it was so fiddly.
- Its plush vegetation crowded the restraining fence that had been made strong, damned near impregnable, to hold it back.
- No walls, no fences, nothing to hold him back.
- Suddenly she holds some back as if still determined to drive the hardest possible bargain.
- That wildfire feeling might have got a hold a month back, but it would not be allowed to do so again.
- The whistle postponed it, held it back until announcing the morning shift at six.
- His wife had to hold him back.
- I had to eat with one hand and hold the hair back with the other-it was so fiddly.
- Its plush vegetation crowded the restraining fence that had been made strong, damned near impregnable, to hold it back.
- No walls, no fences, nothing to hold him back.
- Suddenly she holds some back as if still determined to drive the hardest possible bargain.
- That wildfire feeling might have got a hold a month back, but it would not be allowed to do so again.
- His wife had to hold him back.
- I had to eat with one hand and hold the hair back with the other-it was so fiddly.
- Its plush vegetation crowded the restraining fence that had been made strong, damned near impregnable, to hold it back.
- No walls, no fences, nothing to hold him back.
- Suddenly she holds some back as if still determined to drive the hardest possible bargain.
- That wildfire feeling might have got a hold a month back, but it would not be allowed to do so again.
- The whistle postponed it, held it back until announcing the morning shift at six.
- His wife had to hold him back.
- I had to eat with one hand and hold the hair back with the other-it was so fiddly.
- No walls, no fences, nothing to hold him back.
- Suddenly she holds some back as if still determined to drive the hardest possible bargain.
- That wildfire feeling might have got a hold a month back, but it would not be allowed to do so again.
- The whistle postponed it, held it back until announcing the morning shift at six.
- His wife had to hold him back.
- Its plush vegetation crowded the restraining fence that had been made strong, damned near impregnable, to hold it back.
- Suddenly she holds some back as if still determined to drive the hardest possible bargain.
- That wildfire feeling might have got a hold a month back, but it would not be allowed to do so again.
- The whistle postponed it, held it back until announcing the morning shift at six.
- After Berg left baseball in 1978, he never looked back.
- After this he would never look back.
- And it was a strange feeling for Lois when she saw Paul do just that and never look back.
- He grabbed the points race lead for good in late April and virtually never looked back.
- Her studies were interrupted by the opportunity to go into local politics, from which she has never looked back.
- Mandy Rice-Davies meant good times, and never looking back.
- Once he learned to ride his gains and cut his losses, he never looked back.
- She never looked back to see what was chasing her, just woke in a cramped sweat, breathless and in tears.
- Today their dreams have come true partially because they burned their bridges and never looked back.
- He longed to explore, to take the wild adventure of going completely back to nature.
- Such language glances back to nature worship.
- When people talk of going back to nature, do they really know what they are asking for?
- But you can get your own back.
- By launching the new forum Mr Heseltine is getting his own back on the now weakened Mr Lamont.
- I've gotta get my own back.
- I hope you haven't gone and done anything silly to it just to get your own back for me going away.
- The only way Scott could get his own back was by replacing my voice during the post-production.
- Tupac stoked the feud, claiming to have slept with Biggie Smalls's wife, Smalls threatened to get his own back.
- Was that a way of getting his own back?
- Women get their own back by borrowing their man's razor.
- She should pat herself on the back and take a well-earned break.
- Because when I pat myself on the back, the next sensation is usually a sharp kick lower down.
- Cliff Nudelman pats me on the back.
- Every person on the street will pat you on the back.
- For most of that ride it patted itself on the back.
- How dare she wave her bloody job at us like she wanted us to pat her on the back for it?
- I patted him on the back as hard as I dared but he still couldn't breathe.
- The manager patted Stuart on the back.
- This time I patted myself on the back all the way to the hotel.
- I think you all deserve a pat on the back for your hard work.
- I think we should give Fairclough a pat on the back for his performances in the last few games.
- It amounts to a pat on the back.
- Just a smile or a pat on the back may keep a student working.
- No one gets past him without an encouraging word, a pat on the back, a smile.
- Now congratulate your loved one and give yourself a pat on the back as well for your own agility around the course.
- That was intended to be a pat on the back - as one of several others - for me.
- The tournament-sponsoring Thunderbirds deserve a pat on the back.
- Try starting with a pat on the back to soften the blow of criticism.
- He was back on the rails, and moving again.
- It seems that matters have fallen behind schedule and need to be put back on the rails.
- Better than that was riding on his back while he went down on hands and knees and neighed like a horse.
- Dostoevsky wanted to stifle the thought that he was riding on the back of Nechacv's perverse glamour.
- Just by riding on your shoulders, Newt.
- Oblivious to the emotion riding on their backs, Aureole and Pinza came to Epsom with excellent credentials.
- Or you can ride on my back, if you prefer.
- People on welfare are not taking a ride on the backs of other people.
- Power can not ride on an upright back.
- But he rolled back the years wearing his old jockeys' uniform in the Radcliffe Selling Stakes at Nottingham.
- Quality will have to take a back seat to price when we buy the new furniture.
- And very generally, the interests of lenders in New York take a back seat to the interests of the corporate borrowers.
- As the race drew closer it was time for Paul to take a back seat.
- But when they were introduced, everything upstairs had to take a back seat.
- Golf Faldo forced to take a back seat to Walker Cup team.
- He notes, however, that economic considerations are taking a back seat to budget negotiations.
- It was also a year when investment bankers took a back seat.
- Long-term planning took a back seat in the deliberations of the senior engineers whose efforts were principally devoted to overcoming short-term problems.
- Turning the original classic topsy-turvy, Stoppard makes Hamlet himself take a back seat and elevates two minor characters to star status.
- Forbes slapped me on the back.
- He rushed over and slapped me on the back as I lifted a highball to my lips.
- I go to slap her on the back but she waves my arm away impatiently.
- In those days it was considered bad form even to slap you on the back.
- Jack said, and he slapped Streeter on the back of the head with his gun hand.
- She slapped him on the back.
- She intended to slap Elisabeth on the back, but she was too late.
- a congratulatory slap on the back
- A hot water bottle in the small of your back should help.
- As the skaters skated, they sometimes tucked one arm into the small of their backs.
- But then he was sandwiched between the door and the floor level, concrete lip digging into the small of his back.
- Her white sweatshirt is bunched up and tucked in at the small of her back, so her rear is exposed.
- I could see the great livid weals of scars running across the small of her back and down her mighty thighs.
- I stroke the small of his back.
- She moved her hand to the small of his back and propelled him across the porch.
- When he stepped forward to use the other hand, something cracked into the small of his back, and he stumbled.
- He seems friendly, but he wouldn't hesitate to stab you in the back if he thought it would help him get your job.
- Thatcher was stabbed in the back by her former friends and colleagues in the Conservative Party.
- I see, you criticize my appearance, and then you stab me in the back!
- Some one reached through an open window and stabbed Bastidas in the back.
- Why stab Manchester in the back for helping to create a bigger northern network of clubs, raves and fashion outlets?
- I was stabbed in the back because I don't have those problems with Steve.
- It's so many stabs in the back ... It's the whole system which is tucking us up.
- MacQuillan had been stabbed in the back, there were no palm or fingerprints on the weapon.
- Nationalists supported the Wilson/Callaghan governments for years, only to be stabbed in the back in the end.
- If we lose tomorrow, we'll be back where we started.
- And if you decide that they are not, then you are back where you started.
- So my client and I are back where we started.
- To a large extent we are back where we started.
- For first time in his life, he was being thrown back on the his own resources.
- He was about to be thrown back on the bloody rubbish heap, or worse.
- The result is that they are thrown back on their own individual and collective resources.
- It was no fun having my own words thrown back at me by my kids.
- A lot of their love would be rebuffed or thrown back in their faces.
- My love - my name thrown back in my face.
- Nobody was throwing anything in their faces.
- This would be thrown back in his face later by North Koreaand sooner than anyone guessed.
- He had only to pick one of them up to be transported back to the time and place of its acquisition.
- Years later, at a sound, sight or scent, you can be transported back to that place.
- He turned his back on Shauna and walked to the window.
- He would never turn his back on a fellow veteran.
- Many immigrants turn their back on the old ways.
- He turned his back abruptly and walked away.
- He acknowledged his paternity when he could have easily turned his back on him and told him he was a servant.
- I handed him back that hundred dollars and turned my back and took him in.
- Kissinger said it was disgraceful that the United States had turned its back on one of her oldest and closest friends.
- So in the end I turned my back on it and walked away.
- Weaken, turn your back for a moment and it could be lost for good.
- Wiltshire's Social Services department has promised not to turn its back on the problem of alcoholics.
- He may be prime minister for now, but he still needs to watch his back.
- Besides which, I needed an ally at the shop, some one to watch my back should things get hairy.
- But watch your back when I get out, all right?
- But Yeltsin will have to watch his back.
- Drug traffickers and guerrillas mix with spies and mercenaries, all cautiously watching their backs.
- Enjoy it, but watch your back.
- Other agents are watching his back, he says.
- She watched his back for a moment.
- She noticed that everyone seemed to have drifted a little closer; was talking a little less, watching their backs.
The cat arched its back and hissed. My feet were sore and my back was aching. Keep your head up and your back straight. To avoid back problems, always bend your knees when you lift heavy objects. He lay on his back and gazed at the ceiling. Johnny was lying flat on his back in the middle of the floor. Anna stood with her back to the window.on somebody’s back (=carried on someone’s back) The girl appeared again, now with a little baby on her back. b)the bones between your neck and the top of your legs SYN spine: He broke his back in a motorbike accident.2not at front [usually singular] the part of something that is furthest from the front OPP front: a T-shirt with a picture of a snake on the backback of He kissed her on the back of her head. Her window faced the backs of the houses.in the back (of something) (=used especially about the back of a vehicle) Two men were sitting in the back of the car.at the back (of something) a small shop with an office at the backin back (of something) American English (=in or at the back of something) Kids should always wear seat belts, even in back.out back American English (=behind a house or other building) Tom’s working on the car out back.round/out the back British English (=behind a house or building) Have you looked round the back?3less important side [usually singular] the less important side or surface of something such as a piece of paper or card OPP front: Paul scribbled his address on the back of an envelope. The credits are listed on the back of the album.4part of seat the part of a seat that you lean against when you are sittingback of He rested his arm on the back of the sofa.5book/newspaper [usually singular] the last pages of a book or newspaper OPP frontat the back (of) The sports pages are usually at the back.in the back (of) The answers are in the back of the book.6at/in the back of your mind a thought that is at the back of your mind is one you try to ignore because you do not want it to be true: At the back of her mind was the thought that he might be with someone else.put/push something to the back of your mind He tried to push these uncomfortable thoughts to the back of his mind.7back to back a)with the backs towards each other: Stand back to back and we’ll see who’s tallest. b)happening immediately one after the other: He performed up to three times a day, often back to back. → back-to-back18back to front British English a)in an incorrect position so that what should be at the back is at the front: You’ve got your sweater on back to front. b)doing something the wrong way round and starting with the part that should be at the end: He got the commands back to front and the program didn’t work.9behind somebody’s back if you do something behind someone’s back, you do it without them knowing: I don’t like the idea of the two of them talking about me behind my back. I should have realized that he’d go behind my back (=do something without telling me).10when/while somebody’s back is turned if something happens when your back is turned, it happens when you are not able to see or know what someone is doing: What are your kids up to when your back is turned?11get/put somebody’s back up British English informal to annoy someone: Simone was the kind of person who was always putting people’s backs up.12get (somebody) off somebody’s back spoken to stop annoying someone with a lot of questions, criticisms etc, or to make someone stop annoying you in this way: Maybe the only way to get him off my back is to tell him the truth. Do me a favour and get off my back!13be on somebody’s back spoken to be trying to make someone do something they do not want to do: Why are you and Dad always on my back?14on the back of something as a result of something that already exists or something you have already done: The company should be able to generate business on the back of existing contracts.15on the backs of somebody using the work of a particular group to achieve something that they will not get any advantage from: Economic prosperity was won on the backs of the urban poor.16sports a defending player in a sports team SYN defender17the back of beyond informal a place that is a long way from other places and is difficult to get to: It’s a nice little cottage but it really is in the back of beyond.18be (flat) on your back a)to be lying on your back – used to emphasize that someone seems unlikely to get up soon: He was drunk and flat on his back on the street. b)to be so ill that you cannot get out of bed: Their best player was flat on his back in hospital. c)if a business, country, economy etc is on its back, it is not successful: The UK market was flat on its back.19put your back into it informal to work extremely hard at something: If we really put our backs into it, we could finish today.20be glad/delighted/pleased etc to see the back of somebody/something to be happy that someone is leaving or because you no longer have to deal with something: No, I’m not too upset that he left – in fact, I was glad to see the back of him. I can’t wait to see the back of this project, I can tell you (=I will be happy when it ends).21have your back to/against the wall informal to be in a difficult situation with no choice about what to do22at your back a)behind you: They had the wind at their backs as they set off. b)supporting you: Caesar marched into Rome with an army at his back.23on your back informal not polite if someone achieves something on their back, they achieve it by having sex with someone24high-backed/straight-backed/low-backed etc with a high, straight, low etc back: a high-backed chair → know something like the back of your hand at know1(3), → turn your back on somebody/something at turn1(7)back1 adverbback2 nounback3 verbback4 adjective
backback3 ●●● S2 W3 verb VERB TABLE
back
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | back |
| he, she, it | backs | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | backed |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have backed |
| he, she, it | has backed | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had backed |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will back |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have backed |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am backing |
| he, she, it | is backing | |
| you, we, they | are backing | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was backing |
| you, we, they | were backing | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been backing |
| he, she, it | has been backing | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been backing |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be backing |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been backing |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- I wouldn't park there -- it's going to be very difficult to back out again.
- Morris carefully backed the truck into the shed.
- Several major insurance companies have agreed to back the healthcare reforms.
- The crime bill is backed by the Democrats.
- The plans for a new shopping mall are backed by the city council.
- The stage was backed by a light blue curtain.
- The three tenors were backed by the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra.
- Uncle Barry backed Arsenal to win the FA Cup.
- We backed a horse named Travelling Light that finished first at 10-1.
- Which team did you back for the Super Bowl?
- I backed the car into the garage and walked round to the front door of the boarding house.
- In the end Krushchev backed down and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
- There is no known cure but the illness can be treated - by medication backed by practical and caring support.
THESAURUSto agree with and help somebody/something
to say that you agree with a person or idea, and usually help them because you want them to succeed: · We will support your decision.· Thanks to everyone who supported us throughout the trial.· The tsunami appeal was supported by thousands of people.
to support a person or plan by providing money or practical help – used about governments or other powerful groups: · The £100 million scheme is backed by the British government.· The people backing him do not have the interests of the club at heart.
to formally and officially say that you support a person, plan, or idea: · Agriculture ministers refused to endorse the Commission's proposals.
to support a person or plan and help them be successful – used especially about a group of people: · The England fans really got behind the team.· I really believe in this initiative, but it was hard to find business people who were willing to get behind it.· The police can't do anything unless the public gets behind them.
to say that you support someone or something when they are being attacked: · You were the only person who stood up for me at the meeting.· He stood up for what he believed in.
to support one of the people or groups involved in an argument – used especially when you disapprove of this or think it is unfair: · I felt she was siding with her mother rather than standing up for me.· The jury often side with the defendant in these situations.
to try to win money, for example by playing cards or guessing which horse will win a race: · Eddie loved to gamble, and would spend most evenings at the roulette table.· A growing number of people are gambling online.
to try to win money by guessing who will win a race or game: · He liked to smoke, drink, and bet on horses.· Jerry bet $1000 on the game.· We had a bet on the Irish team to win.
to gamble £10, $20 etc on the horse or team that you think will win a race or competition: · I put $100 on the Cowboys to win.
British English informal to gamble a small amount of money, especially on the result of a horse race – used especially when someone does not gamble very often: · I’m not a heavy gambler, but I like to have a flutter from time to time.· I had a little flutter on the Grand National and won £5.
to gamble money on the result of a game which you are playing: · ‘Are we playing for money here, gentlemen?’ he said as he approached the pool table.· You’re allowed to play cards in the bar, but not for money.
to gamble money on a particular horse, team etc that you think will win a race or competition: · When I back a horse, it always seems to finish second.
verb [intransitive, transitive] to buy shares or property, in order to make a profit: · Why don’t you invest the money on the stock market?· He invested £50,000 in his brother’s business.· Investing in property is probably not a good idea right now.
to give money to a business, organization, activity etc, in order to help it develop and be successful: · We’re looking for an investor who will put money into our business.· Every year the charity puts millions of dollars into research to find ways to treat cancer.
[transitive usually passive] to invest in a project or business, especially when the fact that you do this shows you support it: · The scheme has been backed by several major companies.· The movie is backed by a powerful state-owned bank.
noun [countable] if you have an interest in a particular company, you own shares in it: · In 1986 GM acquired a controlling interest (=enough shares to control what decisions are taken) in the sports car maker Lotus.· He has business interests throughout Europe.
to reduce prices, numbers, or amounts to make the price, amount, or size of something less or smaller: · The price was reduced by 50%.· We need to reduce the amount of salt in our diet.
to reduce something, especially by a large amount – used about prices, costs, jobs, or the time needed to do something: · Companies are always looking for ways to cut costs.· The journey time will be cut to under 2 hours.· Staff numbers have been cut by half to about 150.
to reduce the level, limit, or amount of something. Lower sounds rather formal: · The voting age was lowered to 18.· The government decided to lower interest rates by 0.5%.· After twenty minutes, lower the temperature to 150 degrees.
to reduce something such as prices or costs, or reduce the level of something. Bring something down is less formal than lower: · The government wants to bring down the level of inflation.· The company is trying to bring its costs down.
informal to reduce an amount or price by a very large amount – used especially in newspapers and advertisements: · Public spending has been slashed over the past two years.· Prices slashed for one week only!
to reduce the amount of something – used especially about people deciding to spend less, do less, or use less of something: · The education budget has been cut back again.· I need to cut back on my workload.
to reduce the number of people employed in order to reduce costs – used about a company or organization: · The company is planning to downsize its European operations.
to reduce the size or the amount of money that is being spent on something: · The research programme has been scaled down.· The navy is being scaled down.
to make pain or feelings less unpleasant: · The drug is used to relieve pain.· A joke can help to ease the tension.
formal to reduce pain or suffering, or make a problem less serious: · You can buy various medicines to alleviate the symptoms of flu.· The new road was supposed to alleviate the congestion problem.
Longman Language Activatormoving backwards moving or looking towards a place behind you: · He looked back over his shoulder.· I stepped back to let them pass.
also backward moving back and away from the direction in which you are facing: · Sarah fell backwards in the snow.· Can you skate backward?· Stepping backwards, Harry trod on the foot of the woman behind him.backwards and forwards: · She gently rocked the baby backwards and forwards.
to move backwards to walk backwards in a particular direction, especially in order to leave a room or building: · Hardy backed slowly toward the door.· Simms quietly backed out of the office, his face red with embarrassment.· When she was sure the baby was asleep, she backed softly through the bedroom door.
to walk slowly backwards, especially to get further away from someone or to avoid a dangerous situation: · "Are you crazy?'' she cried, backing away.back away from: · We slowly backed away from the rattlesnake.
especially American to move backwards a little, for example in order to give someone enough space to move: · Back up a bit so that everyone can see.· Can you back up a few steps so that I can open the door?
to walk backwards or away from the direction you were walking before, especially in order to avoid an embarrassing or unpleasant situation: · Jim saw me approaching and quickly retreated down a side street.retreat from/into/to etc: · "You haven't heard the last of this!'' shouted Spencer, retreating up the stairs.
to take one step or a few steps backwards: · Myers quickly stepped back into the house when he caught sight of us.· As the lights of a car approached he stepped back into the shadows.
to suddenly move part or all of your body backwards, away from something that is unpleasant or frightening: · She looked at the dead body and recoiled.recoil from: · She recoiled from his touch.
to move quickly and suddenly backwards in order to get away from someone, especially because you are upset, angry, or frightened: · When Helen took his arm he tried to pull away.· I tried to kiss her but she pulled away.
to make a vehicle go backwards especially British to drive a car or other vehicle backwards: · You'll have to reverse to let them pass.· He slowly reversed the van into the parking place.reverse out of/into/round etc: · As I approached the house a car reversed out of the driveway and sped off down the road.
especially American to drive a car or other vehicle backwards: · The car stopped and then began to back up.· Back the truck up a little more, will you?back up something: · Cindi backed up the car and stopped in front of the door.
to drive a car or other vehicle backwards, especially in order to get into or out of a space: back out/in/into: · I wouldn't park there -- it's going to be very difficult to back out again.back something out/in/into: · Morris carefully backed the truck into the shed.
the back part of something the part that is furthest from the front: · Someone crashed into the back of my car.· You can leave your bike around the back.· They walked past the back of the cottage.· Did you know you have paint on the back of your skirt?· "How do I turn the computer on?'' "There's a switch at the back.''
formal the back part of a building or vehicle: · Access to the kitchen is from the rear.· There are more seats at the rear of the theater.
the back of something flat · I wrote down her address on the back of an envelope.· He was trying to scrape the wax off with the back of a knife.on the back · If you look on the back, you'll see the artist's signature.· "I can't see the wine list.'' "It's on the back.''
· Write your name here and on the other side put your phone number.
the back side of something - used especially in written instructions or descriptions: · Sign the check on the reverse side.· The reverse side of the coin has the president's head on it.
at the back of something British /in the back especially American · I couldn't see very well because we were seated in the back.· There's something rotting at the back of the refrigerator.· I found your passport -- it was at the back of the drawer.
at the back of a building, room, or vehicle - used especially in instructions and written descriptions: · Passengers for Birmingham should sit at the rear of the train.· Brenda sat at the reception desk at the rear of the main hall.· A VW's engine is at the rear of the vehicle.
at the back of a car or other vehicle: · Just throw all your bags in the back.· Don't let the dog sit in the front -- he has to go in the back.· She couldn't see out of the rear window because of all the junk in the back of the truck.
also rear formal at the back of something, for example a building or car: · The burglars broke into the house through the back door.· The rear brakes are completely worn out.· You can put your suitcase on the back seat of the car.· They made their way toward the rear exit.· The rear carriage of the train is reserved for non-smokers.
to accept something after first refusing or opposing it to accept someone's suggestion, offer, or demand, after refusing it for some time: finally accept something: · After a three week strike, the company has finally accepted the workers' pay demands.· The owners finally accepted our offer of £62,000.(finally) have to accept something: · The President finally had to accept that there was little support for his health care initiatives.
to unwillingly agree to accept someone's demands after they have argued with you, asked you repeatedly, or threatened you: · Jenny kept begging me for a new bicycle, and I finally gave in.give in to: · The President said he would never give in to demands by terrorists.· You shouldn't always give in to other people -- stick up for yourself more.
to agree to stop saying that you are right or that other people obey you: · Even though it was obvious Emma's demands were unrealistic, she wouldn't back down.back down on: · Congress has backed down on its demand for an increase in defense spending.
: bow to somebody's wishes/opinions/demands/pressure etc to agree to do something because many people want you to, even though you do not want to do it: · The government finally bowed to public opinion and abolished the unpopular tax.· McDonald's finally bowed to consumer pressure and announced that it would no longer use styrofoam boxes to package its hamburgers.
: accede to somebody's demands/request/wishes formal to accept someone's demands etc: · The Democrats have finally acceded to Republican demands to cut taxes.· Meyer acceded to the President's request that he continue as education secretary until a replacement could be found.
to finally accept what someone has suggested or to finally agree to something that they want - use this when you think someone should not accept something and are being weak if they do: · Strike leaders are privately saying they would like an end to the dispute, but don't want to be seen to be caving in.cave in to: · It's unlikely that the government will cave in to the rebels' demands.
to gamble to try to win money, for example by playing cards or guessing which horse will win a race: · Eddie loved to gamble, and would spend most evenings at the roulette table.gamble away something/gamble something away (=waste a lot of money by gambling): · Roger gambled away all his money in a Las Vegas casino.· She inherited $50,000 but gambled it away.
when you try to win money, for example by playing cards or guessing which horse will win a race: · Is gambling legal here?· Your Uncle Maury has a gambling problem.· Crane admits that he is addicted to gambling.· He was against the introduction of a National Lottery as he thought it might encourage gambling.
to try to win money by guessing who will win a race or game: · I don't bet very often.bet on something/have a bet on something (=gamble money on the result of a race or game): · We usually have a bet on the Grand Prix.· Rogers was not much of a gambler. When he bet on the horses, he almost always lost.bet £10/$100 etc on something: · Jerry bet $1000 on the game.place a bet (=say which horse, team, competition etc you want to gamble on and pay the money that you want to gamble): · I've placed a bet on a horse in the next race.· All bets must be placed before the start of the race.
to gamble £10, $20 etc on the horse or team that you think will win a race or competition: · I put $20 on the Cowboys to win.· He put £50 on Middlesborough to beat Manchester United at odds of 3-1.put a bet on something (=gamble on a horse, game etc): · I think I'll put a bet on the next race.
to gamble money on a particular horse, team, or person that you think will win a particular competition: · We backed a horse named Travelling Light that finished first at 10-1.back something/somebody to win something: · Uncle Barry backed Arsenal to win the FA Cup.
to gamble money on the result of a game which you are playing, for example cards: · "Are we playing for money here, gentlemen?" he said as he approached the pool table.· You're allowed to play cards in the bar, but not for money.
British informal to gamble a small amount of money, especially on the result of a horse race - use this especially about someone who does not gamble very often: · I'm not a heavy gambler, but I like to have a flutter from time to time.have a flutter on: · I had a little flutter on the Grand National and won £5.
to lose money by not guessing correctly the result of a game, race, or competition: · He claims that he lost the money on a dice game.· I lost a lot of money on the dogs last night.
to win money by correctly guessing the result of a game, race, or competition: · I heard that he won a lot of money on the Superbowl a few years ago.
to provide money to help someone do something also subsidise British if a government or other organization subsidizes something, it pays part of the cost: · Many companies subsidize meals for their workers.· a government-subsidized health service· The city council subsidizes the local orchestra.
if a company sponsors something such as sports event, a theatre, or an art show, it provides some of the money that is needed, often as a form of advertising: · The new league will be sponsored by Pepsi Cola.· The bank is sponsoring an art exhibition.
to provide all the money needed to pay for something, especially an important or expensive plan: · Both schools and industry will be involved in funding the new training projects.· a charity funded by private donations· The state should fund the arts for the benefit of us all.
informal to provide the money for something such as a business or a plan: · The competition is being bankrolled by a New York businessman and computer enthusiast.· Ed Bass, a millionaire from Texas, bankrolled the Biosphere project.
to provide the money needed for something and agree to take responsibility and pay any debts if it fails: · The British government has agreed to underwrite the project with a grant of £5 million.· The venture was underwritten by several companies.
to provide some of the money needed to start or continue in business, hoping that you will get more money back if the business is successful: · Small investors and large companies have both put money into the exhibition.· He put all his money into a dotcom company that later failed.
to provide the money needed to pay for something, especially by doing something to earn or collect that money: · The government uses money from taxes to finance higher education.· She gave swimming lessons to finance her stay in Australia.· It's a great show, but he can't find anyone to back it.· The bank is eager to back business ideas by local people.
to provide a lot of money over a period of time to pay for something, especially something that will later be unsuccessful: · Many biotech companies are not yet profitable, as they continue to pour money into research and trials.
to provide a lot of money for something, especially government money - use this when you do not think that this is the best way of solving a problem or improving a situation: · The way to solve the education crisis is not necessarily to throw money at it.· The Republicans see him as a liberal whose only solution to the nation's problems was to throw money at them.
to give money or help to a person/group/plan to give help, encouragement, money etc to someone because you want them to succeed: · The rebels were supported by a number of foreign governments who provided arms and money.· Employers support the training program by offering places for young people.
to support a person or plan by providing money or practical help - use this especially to talk about governments or other powerful groups that support something: · Several major insurance companies have agreed to back the healthcare reforms.· The plans for a new shopping mall are backed by the city council.
if you do something in support of someone or something, you do it to show that you support them: · The miners came out on strike in support of the nurses.· a big demonstration in support of democratic reforms
to support and encourage someone in what they are trying to achieve: · My parents were behind me from the start, and bought me my first violin when I was just 3 years old.· Maisha struggled for years trying to make it as an artist, but her husband, Rudy, was always behind her.be behind somebody all the way (=be ready to continue supporting them until they succeed): · Just do your best and remember that we are behind you all the way.
to support someone by saying that you agree with them or by giving information that shows they are right: · I was relying on you to back me up, why didn't you?· Eventually, after my impassioned pleas, backed up by my mother, Dad agreed to let me go to the concert.
to use all your influence and ability to make sure a person, group, or plan is successful: · Faced with a crisis, the Party united and threw its full weight behind the President.· Please throw your full weight behind us in our fund raising effort.
WORD SETSback, verbbank, nounbanker, nounbet, verbbet, nounbid, verbbingo, nounbookie, nounbookmaker, nouncasino, nounchip, nouncroupier, noundividend, noundraw, nouneach way, adverbfruit machine, noungamble, verbgaming, nounlottery, nounodds, nounofftrack, adjectiveone-armed bandit, nounparimutuel, nounplace, verbraffle, nounraffle, verbroulette, nounslot machine, nounstakeholder, nounsweepstake, nountombola, nountout, verbwager, nounwager, verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES The dog arched its back. He choked back tears as he described what had happened. High heels are coming back into fashion. He was getting a crick in his neck from leaning out of the window for so long. He was born in Utah but went to college back East. I spent all morning looking for a suitable present, but came home empty-handed. The first petrol-driven car was produced as far back as 1883. She looked away, fighting back her tears. That night I lay flat on my back and stared up at the ceiling. The Church will welcome him back into the fold. Janet forced back her tears. Life was beginning to get back to normal. I couldn’t get back to sleep. We go back a long way (=we have been friends for a long time). Delors claimed that the president had gone back on his word. an error that would come back to haunt them for years to come Will you be back here tonight? I’m backing the PM to the hilt on this. She struggled to hold back her tears. Now that the crisis is over, we must try to get things back on an even keel. She was struggling to keep back the tears. I grew up here; I know the place like the back of my hand (=I know it very well). He is famed for his laid-back attitude. a network of alleys and back lanes (=narrow unimportant roads, often behind a row of houses) Looking back on it, I still can’t figure out what went wrong. city workers who want to get back to nature in their holidays Henry kicked the ball into the back of the net. Thankfully, train services are now back to normal. After Ray’s operation, Mrs Stallard nursed him back to health. Companies can plough back their profits into new equipment. In the second half Leeds came roaring back with two goals in five minutes. I took a vacation to try to recover my sanity. Tina Turner’s backing singers (=people who sing with her) The police are now back at square one in their investigation. Alastair woke with a stiff neck. He was swinging his bag back and forth. I was paid £1,000, which was a lot of money back then (=a long time ago when things were different) in the 1950s. It’s too far to drive there and back in one day. I tie my hair back when I’m jogging. He took the engine apart and then put it back together again. We’ve promised to help, and there’s no turning back (=you cannot change this)! Welcome back – it’s good to see you again. The kids were playing in the back yard.
(also renege on an agreement formal) (=not do what you agreed to do)· Republican leaders accused Democrats of trying to renege on an agreement to have a House vote.
The dog arched its back. (=a brace that supports the neck etc) He was being fitted for a back brace.
He was being fitted for a back brace. (also catch your breath) (=start breathing normally again)· He leant against a tree until he had got his breath back.
(=make it move backwards)· Suzy backed the car into the driveway.
· He leant back in his chair and took out his pipe.
(=in order to get up)· He pushed back his chair and stood up.
· The chair leg has broken.
He choked back tears as he described what had happened. (=support it)· They challenged him to back up his claims with evidence.
High heels are coming back into fashion.· The doctors were unable to bring her back to consciousness.
(=made in case the original is lost)· Be sure you regularly make back-up copies of your data.
· The price of the book is on the back cover.
He was getting a crick in his neck from leaning out of the window for so long. (=open them)· Would you mind opening the curtains?
(=decide not to make a deal after discussing one)· Twenty-five jobs were lost after their partner pulled out of the deal.
· You'll get your deposit back when all the bills have been paid.
· When I left, the landlord refused to give me my deposit back.
(=of a house)· I heard someone knocking at the front door.· Use the back door if your boots are muddy.
He was born in Utah but went to college back East.· I banged my elbow on the front edge of the desk.
I spent all morning looking for a suitable present, but came home empty-handed.· There is a long drive with steps leading to the front entrance.
(=used to describe a calculation or plan that is written down quickly on any available small piece of paper)· She scribbled a few ideas on the back of an envelope.
The first petrol-driven car was produced as far back as 1883. (=become fashionable again)· Short skirts are coming back into fashion this year.
She looked away, fighting back her tears. That night I lay flat on my back and stared up at the ceiling. The Church will welcome him back into the fold. (=of an animal)· The horse lifted its back foot.
Janet forced back her tears. (=discover new things)
British English (=behind a house)· The children are playing in the back garden.
(=the gate in front of or at the back of a building)· She stood outside the front gate of the cottage.
Life was beginning to get back to normal. I couldn’t get back to sleep. We go back a long way (=we have been friends for a long time). Delors claimed that the president had gone back on his word. (=one that gives you back the money you paid if there is a problem)· The company offers a 30-day, money-back guarantee on all its products.
(=the outside surface of your hand)· Let a dog sniff the back of your hand, rather than your fingers.
an error that would come back to haunt them for years to come Will you be back here tonight? I’m backing the PM to the hilt on this. She struggled to hold back her tears. Now that the crisis is over, we must try to get things back on an even keel. She was struggling to keep back the tears.· She felt in her pocket for the front door key.
I grew up here; I know the place like the back of my hand (=I know it very well). He is famed for his laid-back attitude. a network of alleys and back lanes (=narrow unimportant roads, often behind a row of houses)· Have you taken those books back to the library?
(=give back the money you borrowed, usually over a period of time)· You can repay the loan early without a penalty.
Looking back on it, I still can’t figure out what went wrong. (also rekindle/revive memories formal) (=make you remember something)· For many older people, the film brought back memories of the war.
(=you suddenly remember things clearly)· Evelyn hugged her daughter, as memories came flooding back to her.
(also refund somebody’s money) (=give money back to a customer)· We regret that we are unable to refund money on tickets.
city workers who want to get back to nature in their holidays Henry kicked the ball into the back of the net. Thankfully, train services are now back to normal. After Ray’s operation, Mrs Stallard nursed him back to health. (=used to say when or how something began)· The school’s origins go back to the 12th century.
(=of a newspaper)· Her picture was on the front page of every newspaper.
· Many people suffer from back pain.
Companies can plough back their profits into new equipment.· He took a wad of money from his back pocket.
· He was born with heart problems.
(=break it)· They were angry that the company had gone back on its promise.
· Not one of these organizations supports the government's proposals.
· Get to the back of the queue!
(=make them realize what is happening around them or true)· She was brought back to reality by the pain in her ankle.
(=rent you owe for an earlier period)· Mrs Carr said she is still owed several thousand dollars in back rent.
(=a small road that is not used much)· He drove into a quiet side road and stopped the car.
In the second half Leeds came roaring back with two goals in five minutes. I took a vacation to try to recover my sanity. (=in a car)· Never leave bags on the back seat of a car.
· The audience clapped as he returned to his seat.
Tina Turner’s backing singers (=people who sing with her) (=sleep again after waking up)· He shut his eyes and went back to sleep.
The police are now back at square one in their investigation. (=used when you start something again because you were not successful the first time) Okay, let’s go back to square one and try again.
Okay, let’s go back to square one and try again. Alastair woke with a stiff neck. (=a small quiet street near the main street)· The restaurant is tucked away in a side street.
· Somehow I just knew in the end we would get back to the subject of money.
He was swinging his bag back and forth. (=not cry even though you feel like crying)· She gave her version of events, often struggling to hold back the tears.
(=try not to cry)· She fought back tears yesterday as she re-lived the horrors she had seen.
I was paid £1,000, which was a lot of money back then (=a long time ago when things were different) in the 1950s. It’s too far to drive there and back in one day. I tie my hair back when I’m jogging. He took the engine apart and then put it back together again.· Some of his front teeth were missing.
We’ve promised to help, and there’s no turning back (=you cannot change this)! (=make it show an earlier time)· On Saturday night, don’t forget to put your watch back an hour.
Welcome back – it’s good to see you again.· Stand well back from the edge of the platform.
· The rear wheels of the bus got stuck in a creek.
· The burglar had got in through one of the back windows.
· His doctor agreed he was fit enough to return to work.
The kids were playing in the back yard.PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► get in through the back door► back seat driver► bite something ↔ back► bring something ↔ back► bring something ↔ back► bring something ↔ back► bring somebody ↔ back► put/leave something on the back burner► call (somebody) back► cut something ↔ back► back in the day► lie back and think of England► fight something ↔ back► get somebody back► get something ↔ back► the clocks go back► can do something with one hand (tied) behind your back► go to hell and back► keep something ↔ back► keep something ↔ back► keep somebody ↔ back► keep something ↔ back► my head/back etc is killing me► knock something ↔ back► knock somebody back something► knock somebody back► it fell off the back of a lorry► a monkey on your back► pull something ↔ back► put your back out► put somebody/something ↔ back► put something ↔ back► put something ↔ back► put a clock/watch back► rick your back/neck► I’ll be right with you/right there/right back► put the roses back in somebody’s cheeks► you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours► be glad/pleased etc to see the back of somebody/something► set somebody/something ↔ back► take something ↔ back► take something ↔ back► take somebody back► like water off a duck’s back
1support [transitive] a)to support someone or something, especially by giving them money or using your influence: - Women have often been forced to take a back seat in society.
- And very generally, the interests of lenders in New York take a back seat to the interests of the corporate borrowers.
- But when they were introduced, everything upstairs had to take a back seat.
- He notes, however, that economic considerations are taking a back seat to budget negotiations.
- If you can't agree to disagree, then take a back seat and let others have their way on this occasion.
- It was also a year when investment bankers took a back seat.
- Many feel reluctant to take a back seat and allow their children to enjoy the special attractiveness of the teens and twenties.
- Mr Peters has now taken a back seat.
- That her family had taken a back seat in her life.
- A sweetheart, this little lady, not bad legs either.
- For Joshua, at sixty-two, and suffering from a bad leg, distances had begun to take on an extraordinary significance.
- He had a bad back as well, you know, just like Rich.
- He had a bad leg and they kept on at him to hurry up.
- Medical deferment for a very bad heart.
- That coming from him who would go sick with a bad back whenever a job tired him.
- The problems-from bad backs to carpal tunnel syndrome to headaches-have made the headlines of every health magazine in the country.
- A constructive response to the Howie Report would be more pertinent than saloon-bar simplicities about getting back to basics.
- His party claims to be the party of law and order, the family, back to basics.
- In other words, forget your fancy gender studies: the neo-Darwinists were marching us back to basics.
- Last Wednesday was all about back to basics and glimpses of optimism.
- Now, however, it seems that the route to success may once again involve going back to basics.
- This month's personal finance column therefore takes a back to basics look at expatriate tax.
- Try to counter nervousness by getting right back to basics.
- I noticed that his hands were trembling slightly, and he seemed to be blinking back tears.
- She needed to blink away tears.
- Touching the welt, Howard tried to blink back tears before going inside.
- A combination of ground and air action broke the back of the rebellion.
- His two interceptions Sunday broke the back of the Pittsburgh Steelers as Dallas won the duel in the desert, 27-17.
- In Czechoslovakia last March Martin Keown nearly broke the back of the net with a long-range effort.
- It would have been nice for him to wind things up by breaking the back of Britain's opposition to integration.
- Pouring over its latest simulation runs, Sun is confident it has broken the back of the technical problem.
- Their thunderous charges have broken the back of many an invading army.
- Food brought me back to the human face.
- He had felt ashamed the first time he put it on: it brought him back to his ugliness.
- Polishing with a soft cloth will bring the surface back to life.
- She brings the papers back to her office and shuts the door.
- This brings us back to the expressive order.
- We must bring that cup back to Oxfordshire.
- Which brings us back to red wine.
- Which brings us back to why this period is one of some urgency.
- After appearing to be in terminal decline the monarchy is back in business.
- By the summer of 1992 the dress patrols were back in business.
- Last week, Peron was back in business, with a few cosmetic changes.
- Male speaker We're setting up in another hangar and hope to be back in business soon.
- Nice to see Dave Hill's barber is back in business.
- Stop Press: Liverpool is back in business.
- The company was back in business.
- The Cumberland Tavern - now under new management - is back in business as a rock venue.
- Cast you mind back a few weeks to the Athletics Championship in Armagh.
- He frowned, casting his mind back over the conversation they had held.
- Henry cast his mind back to the fateful evening.
- Lisa, if you cast your mind back, I think you'll recall that it was your idea.
- Again, more in control of matters, he cast his mind back.
- He cast his mind back to his homecoming earlier that evening.
- He racked his brains, he cast his mind back.
- I cast my mind back to our excited departure from Gatwick airport.
- Let us cast our minds back to the referendum.
- If I could turn the clock back, I don't think I'd study law again.
- It would be nice to put the clock back to the years when Mum and Dad were still alive.
- He thinks you can turn the clock back.
- It was almost like turning the clock back a couple of centuries.
- Not unless they fell into Morton's hands. Turn the clock back.
- Or not lie, maybe. Turn the clock back.
- The most important thing now is not to turn the clock back.
- This great divide can not be bridged by turning the clock back.
- We can not turn the clock back.
- What is past is past and you can not turn the clock back.
- Anyway, even if one wanted to, one couldn't put the clock back to an earlier age.
- I can't put the clock back.
- They were therefore accused of putting the clock back and bringing the best hope of Christendom to an impasse.
- I, like many other riders, am eagerly awaiting the clocks going forward.
- Police say they had to enforce the law after 1am when the clocks went forward an hour.
- When the clocks go back in late October it will be dark by five o'clock in the afternoon.
- It's a back-handed compliment really, you know.
- A few weeks later Patrick Ashby came back from the dead and went home to inherit the family house and fortune.
- Friends don't come back from the dead, Leila thought, rampaging through the corridor from the canteen.
- The single engine airplane business came back from the dead after the General Aviation Revitalization Act made it harder to sue.
- When Cardiff had come back from the dead, he had shrunk away back down the hessian-screen corridor towards Rohmer.
- Voters rejected the bridge expansion plan, so it's back to the drawing board for city engineers.
- For San Jose, it was back to the drawing board.
- So Superman, once the most recognized and revered hero in comic books, was sent back to the drawing board.
- Sometimes, you also have to go back to the drawing board.
- The Cta episode has therefore sent the whole idea of direct dating of petroglyphs back to the drawing board.
- They must go back to the drawing board and review the whole of youth training.
- They want to see the road plan sent back to the drawing board.
- You also could go back to the drawing board with that budget, trying to reduce costs.
- You have to discard the propeller engine and go back to the drawing board.
- Adai can come back to Earth after Gog is dead - after I am dead, perhaps.
- AIr travellers came down to earth with a bump yesterday when they joined in some charity aerobics.
- In Karuzi you quickly come down to earth.
- Maybe, but the once pricey products that use this satellite technology have come down to earth.
- Peter Lilley came down to earth.
- They recently have come down to Earth.
- When you're looking after a two year old, you need to have eyes in the back of your head.
- You need to have eyes in the back of your head to be a teacher.
- Arthur was flat on his back under the car.
- I've been flat on my back with the flu all week.
- Babs said it was all very well but had he forgotten their leading man was flat on his back in Sefton General?
- What else would he need if he were going to be flat on his back or stomach?
- But we are reliably informed that Angus will be back on his feet and more importantly that seat tomorrow.
- He got back on his feet, and they all made another parade around the stage.
- In those early years, Macey helped Dole literally get back on his feet.
- It was an inexpensive, safe, stable environment for families while they got back on their feet.
- Never got back on her feet again, really.
- The Mirror Group would soon be back on its feet.
- We can get back on our feet.
- There's no going back, even if I wanted to, which I don't.
- Too late you realize that there's no going back.
- For Casey, there was no holding back when it came to music.
- I had to eat with one hand and hold the hair back with the other-it was so fiddly.
- Its plush vegetation crowded the restraining fence that had been made strong, damned near impregnable, to hold it back.
- No walls, no fences, nothing to hold him back.
- Suddenly she holds some back as if still determined to drive the hardest possible bargain.
- That wildfire feeling might have got a hold a month back, but it would not be allowed to do so again.
- The whistle postponed it, held it back until announcing the morning shift at six.
- His wife had to hold him back.
- I had to eat with one hand and hold the hair back with the other-it was so fiddly.
- Its plush vegetation crowded the restraining fence that had been made strong, damned near impregnable, to hold it back.
- No walls, no fences, nothing to hold him back.
- Suddenly she holds some back as if still determined to drive the hardest possible bargain.
- That wildfire feeling might have got a hold a month back, but it would not be allowed to do so again.
- His wife had to hold him back.
- I had to eat with one hand and hold the hair back with the other-it was so fiddly.
- Its plush vegetation crowded the restraining fence that had been made strong, damned near impregnable, to hold it back.
- No walls, no fences, nothing to hold him back.
- Suddenly she holds some back as if still determined to drive the hardest possible bargain.
- That wildfire feeling might have got a hold a month back, but it would not be allowed to do so again.
- The whistle postponed it, held it back until announcing the morning shift at six.
- His wife had to hold him back.
- I had to eat with one hand and hold the hair back with the other-it was so fiddly.
- No walls, no fences, nothing to hold him back.
- Suddenly she holds some back as if still determined to drive the hardest possible bargain.
- That wildfire feeling might have got a hold a month back, but it would not be allowed to do so again.
- The whistle postponed it, held it back until announcing the morning shift at six.
- His wife had to hold him back.
- Its plush vegetation crowded the restraining fence that had been made strong, damned near impregnable, to hold it back.
- Suddenly she holds some back as if still determined to drive the hardest possible bargain.
- That wildfire feeling might have got a hold a month back, but it would not be allowed to do so again.
- The whistle postponed it, held it back until announcing the morning shift at six.
- After Berg left baseball in 1978, he never looked back.
- After this he would never look back.
- And it was a strange feeling for Lois when she saw Paul do just that and never look back.
- He grabbed the points race lead for good in late April and virtually never looked back.
- Her studies were interrupted by the opportunity to go into local politics, from which she has never looked back.
- Mandy Rice-Davies meant good times, and never looking back.
- Once he learned to ride his gains and cut his losses, he never looked back.
- She never looked back to see what was chasing her, just woke in a cramped sweat, breathless and in tears.
- Today their dreams have come true partially because they burned their bridges and never looked back.
- He longed to explore, to take the wild adventure of going completely back to nature.
- Such language glances back to nature worship.
- When people talk of going back to nature, do they really know what they are asking for?
- But you can get your own back.
- By launching the new forum Mr Heseltine is getting his own back on the now weakened Mr Lamont.
- I've gotta get my own back.
- I hope you haven't gone and done anything silly to it just to get your own back for me going away.
- The only way Scott could get his own back was by replacing my voice during the post-production.
- Tupac stoked the feud, claiming to have slept with Biggie Smalls's wife, Smalls threatened to get his own back.
- Was that a way of getting his own back?
- Women get their own back by borrowing their man's razor.
- She should pat herself on the back and take a well-earned break.
- Because when I pat myself on the back, the next sensation is usually a sharp kick lower down.
- Cliff Nudelman pats me on the back.
- Every person on the street will pat you on the back.
- For most of that ride it patted itself on the back.
- How dare she wave her bloody job at us like she wanted us to pat her on the back for it?
- I patted him on the back as hard as I dared but he still couldn't breathe.
- The manager patted Stuart on the back.
- This time I patted myself on the back all the way to the hotel.
- I think you all deserve a pat on the back for your hard work.
- I think we should give Fairclough a pat on the back for his performances in the last few games.
- It amounts to a pat on the back.
- Just a smile or a pat on the back may keep a student working.
- No one gets past him without an encouraging word, a pat on the back, a smile.
- Now congratulate your loved one and give yourself a pat on the back as well for your own agility around the course.
- That was intended to be a pat on the back - as one of several others - for me.
- The tournament-sponsoring Thunderbirds deserve a pat on the back.
- Try starting with a pat on the back to soften the blow of criticism.
- He was back on the rails, and moving again.
- It seems that matters have fallen behind schedule and need to be put back on the rails.
- Better than that was riding on his back while he went down on hands and knees and neighed like a horse.
- Dostoevsky wanted to stifle the thought that he was riding on the back of Nechacv's perverse glamour.
- Just by riding on your shoulders, Newt.
- Oblivious to the emotion riding on their backs, Aureole and Pinza came to Epsom with excellent credentials.
- Or you can ride on my back, if you prefer.
- People on welfare are not taking a ride on the backs of other people.
- Power can not ride on an upright back.
- But he rolled back the years wearing his old jockeys' uniform in the Radcliffe Selling Stakes at Nottingham.
- Quality will have to take a back seat to price when we buy the new furniture.
- And very generally, the interests of lenders in New York take a back seat to the interests of the corporate borrowers.
- As the race drew closer it was time for Paul to take a back seat.
- But when they were introduced, everything upstairs had to take a back seat.
- Golf Faldo forced to take a back seat to Walker Cup team.
- He notes, however, that economic considerations are taking a back seat to budget negotiations.
- It was also a year when investment bankers took a back seat.
- Long-term planning took a back seat in the deliberations of the senior engineers whose efforts were principally devoted to overcoming short-term problems.
- Turning the original classic topsy-turvy, Stoppard makes Hamlet himself take a back seat and elevates two minor characters to star status.
- Forbes slapped me on the back.
- He rushed over and slapped me on the back as I lifted a highball to my lips.
- I go to slap her on the back but she waves my arm away impatiently.
- In those days it was considered bad form even to slap you on the back.
- Jack said, and he slapped Streeter on the back of the head with his gun hand.
- She slapped him on the back.
- She intended to slap Elisabeth on the back, but she was too late.
- a congratulatory slap on the back
- A hot water bottle in the small of your back should help.
- As the skaters skated, they sometimes tucked one arm into the small of their backs.
- But then he was sandwiched between the door and the floor level, concrete lip digging into the small of his back.
- Her white sweatshirt is bunched up and tucked in at the small of her back, so her rear is exposed.
- I could see the great livid weals of scars running across the small of her back and down her mighty thighs.
- I stroke the small of his back.
- She moved her hand to the small of his back and propelled him across the porch.
- When he stepped forward to use the other hand, something cracked into the small of his back, and he stumbled.
- He seems friendly, but he wouldn't hesitate to stab you in the back if he thought it would help him get your job.
- Thatcher was stabbed in the back by her former friends and colleagues in the Conservative Party.
- I see, you criticize my appearance, and then you stab me in the back!
- Some one reached through an open window and stabbed Bastidas in the back.
- Why stab Manchester in the back for helping to create a bigger northern network of clubs, raves and fashion outlets?
- I was stabbed in the back because I don't have those problems with Steve.
- It's so many stabs in the back ... It's the whole system which is tucking us up.
- MacQuillan had been stabbed in the back, there were no palm or fingerprints on the weapon.
- Nationalists supported the Wilson/Callaghan governments for years, only to be stabbed in the back in the end.
- If we lose tomorrow, we'll be back where we started.
- And if you decide that they are not, then you are back where you started.
- So my client and I are back where we started.
- To a large extent we are back where we started.
- For first time in his life, he was being thrown back on the his own resources.
- He was about to be thrown back on the bloody rubbish heap, or worse.
- The result is that they are thrown back on their own individual and collective resources.
- It was no fun having my own words thrown back at me by my kids.
- A lot of their love would be rebuffed or thrown back in their faces.
- My love - my name thrown back in my face.
- Nobody was throwing anything in their faces.
- This would be thrown back in his face later by North Koreaand sooner than anyone guessed.
- He had only to pick one of them up to be transported back to the time and place of its acquisition.
- Years later, at a sound, sight or scent, you can be transported back to that place.
- He turned his back on Shauna and walked to the window.
- He would never turn his back on a fellow veteran.
- Many immigrants turn their back on the old ways.
- He turned his back abruptly and walked away.
- He acknowledged his paternity when he could have easily turned his back on him and told him he was a servant.
- I handed him back that hundred dollars and turned my back and took him in.
- Kissinger said it was disgraceful that the United States had turned its back on one of her oldest and closest friends.
- So in the end I turned my back on it and walked away.
- Weaken, turn your back for a moment and it could be lost for good.
- Wiltshire's Social Services department has promised not to turn its back on the problem of alcoholics.
- He may be prime minister for now, but he still needs to watch his back.
- Besides which, I needed an ally at the shop, some one to watch my back should things get hairy.
- But watch your back when I get out, all right?
- But Yeltsin will have to watch his back.
- Drug traffickers and guerrillas mix with spies and mercenaries, all cautiously watching their backs.
- Enjoy it, but watch your back.
- Other agents are watching his back, he says.
- She watched his back for a moment.
- She noticed that everyone seemed to have drifted a little closer; was talking a little less, watching their backs.
The scheme has been backed by several major companies in the region. Some suspected that the rebellion was backed and financed by the US. government-backed loans b) (also back up) to support an idea by providing facts, proof etc: His claims are not backed by any scientific evidence.► see thesaurus at supportGRAMMAR Back is usually passive in this meaning.2move backwards [intransitive always + adverb/preposition, transitive] to move backwards, or make someone or something move backwardsback into/out of/away from etc She backed into a doorway to let the crowds pass by.back somebody into/towards/out of etc something He began to back her towards the open door.back something into/towards/out of etc something I backed the car into the garage.3put something on the back [transitive] to put a material or substance onto the back of something, in order to protect it or make it stronger: The photograph is backed with cardboard. a plastic-backed shower curtainGRAMMAR Back is usually passive in this meaning.4be behind something [transitive] to be at the back of something or behind it: The Jandia Peninsula is a stretch of white sands backed by a mountain range.GRAMMAR Back is usually passive in this meaning.5music [transitive] to play or sing the music that supports the main singer or musician: They performed all their hits, backed by a 40-piece orchestra.GRAMMAR Back is usually passive in this meaning.6risk money [transitive] to risk money on whether a particular horse, dog, team etc wins something7back the wrong horse to support someone or something that is not successfulback away phrasal verb1to move backwards and away from someone or something, especially because you are frightenedback away from She backed away from the menacing look on his face.2to stop supporting a plan or idea, or stop being involved in somethingback away from The government has backed away from its nuclear weapons strategy.back down phrasal verb to admit that you are wrong or that you have lost an argument: Both sides have refused to back down.back off phrasal verb1to move backwards, away from someone or something: She backed off and then turned and ran.2to stop telling someone what to do, or stop criticizing them, especially so that they can deal with something themselves: I think you should back off for a while. Back off, Marc! Let me run my own life!3to stop supporting something, or decide not to do something you were planning to do: Jerry backed off when he realized how much work was involved.back off from The company has backed off from investing new money.back onto something phrasal verb if a building backs onto something, its back faces it: The hotel backs onto St Mark’s Square.back out phrasal verb to decide not to do something that you had promised to do: It’s too late to back out now. After you’ve signed the contract, it will be impossible to back out.back out of The government is trying to back out of its commitment to reduce pollution.back up phrasal verb1back somebody/something ↔ up to say or show that what someone is saying is true: Jane would back me up if she were here. There’s no evidence to back up his accusations. These theories have not been backed up by research.2back somebody/something ↔ up to provide support or help for someone or something: The plan’s success depends on how vigorously the UN will back it up with action. The police officers are backed up by extra teams of people at the weekend. → backup3to make a copy of information stored on a computer: Make sure you back up.back something ↔ up These devices can back up the whole system.back something ↔ up onto something Back all your files up onto a storage device or Cloud. → backup4 especially American English to make a vehicle move backwards: The truck stopped and then backed up.back something ↔ up I backed the car up a little.5to move backwards: Back up a bit so that everyone can see. → backup6if traffic backs up, it forms a long line of vehicles that cannot move: The traffic was starting to back up in both directions.7if a toilet, sink etc backs up, it becomes blocked so that water cannot flow out of itback1 adverbback2 nounback3 verbback4 adjective
backback4 ●●● S2 W3 adjective [only before noun] EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- a back view
- I took the back way out of town.
- the back wall of the factory
- The burglars broke into the house through the back door.
- The car was later found parked on a back parking lot of the complex.
- The kids should sit in the back seat.
- They waited by the back entrance.
- You can put your suitcase on the back seat of the car.
- Capshaw sent him out the back door to avoid whoever it was keeping guard in the front.
- It allows the vehicle to manoeuvre without tearing itself apart on the back axle.
- Yet it will soak up heavy bumps that would otherwise bounce the back end off the ground.
Longman Language Activatormoving backwards
moving or looking towards a place behind you: · He looked back over his shoulder.· I stepped back to let them pass.
also backward moving back and away from the direction in which you are facing: · Sarah fell backwards in the snow.· Can you skate backward?· Stepping backwards, Harry trod on the foot of the woman behind him.backwards and forwards: · She gently rocked the baby backwards and forwards.
to move backwards to walk backwards in a particular direction, especially in order to leave a room or building: · Hardy backed slowly toward the door.· Simms quietly backed out of the office, his face red with embarrassment.· When she was sure the baby was asleep, she backed softly through the bedroom door.
to walk slowly backwards, especially to get further away from someone or to avoid a dangerous situation: · "Are you crazy?'' she cried, backing away.back away from: · We slowly backed away from the rattlesnake.
especially American to move backwards a little, for example in order to give someone enough space to move: · Back up a bit so that everyone can see.· Can you back up a few steps so that I can open the door?
to walk backwards or away from the direction you were walking before, especially in order to avoid an embarrassing or unpleasant situation: · Jim saw me approaching and quickly retreated down a side street.retreat from/into/to etc: · "You haven't heard the last of this!'' shouted Spencer, retreating up the stairs.
to take one step or a few steps backwards: · Myers quickly stepped back into the house when he caught sight of us.· As the lights of a car approached he stepped back into the shadows.
to suddenly move part or all of your body backwards, away from something that is unpleasant or frightening: · She looked at the dead body and recoiled.recoil from: · She recoiled from his touch.
to move quickly and suddenly backwards in order to get away from someone, especially because you are upset, angry, or frightened: · When Helen took his arm he tried to pull away.· I tried to kiss her but she pulled away.
to make a vehicle go backwards especially British to drive a car or other vehicle backwards: · You'll have to reverse to let them pass.· He slowly reversed the van into the parking place.reverse out of/into/round etc: · As I approached the house a car reversed out of the driveway and sped off down the road.
especially American to drive a car or other vehicle backwards: · The car stopped and then began to back up.· Back the truck up a little more, will you?back up something: · Cindi backed up the car and stopped in front of the door.
to drive a car or other vehicle backwards, especially in order to get into or out of a space: back out/in/into: · I wouldn't park there -- it's going to be very difficult to back out again.back something out/in/into: · Morris carefully backed the truck into the shed.
the back part of something the part that is furthest from the front: · Someone crashed into the back of my car.· You can leave your bike around the back.· They walked past the back of the cottage.· Did you know you have paint on the back of your skirt?· "How do I turn the computer on?'' "There's a switch at the back.''
formal the back part of a building or vehicle: · Access to the kitchen is from the rear.· There are more seats at the rear of the theater.
the back of something flat · I wrote down her address on the back of an envelope.· He was trying to scrape the wax off with the back of a knife.on the back · If you look on the back, you'll see the artist's signature.· "I can't see the wine list.'' "It's on the back.''
· Write your name here and on the other side put your phone number.
the back side of something - used especially in written instructions or descriptions: · Sign the check on the reverse side.· The reverse side of the coin has the president's head on it.
at the back of something British /in the back especially American · I couldn't see very well because we were seated in the back.· There's something rotting at the back of the refrigerator.· I found your passport -- it was at the back of the drawer.
at the back of a building, room, or vehicle - used especially in instructions and written descriptions: · Passengers for Birmingham should sit at the rear of the train.· Brenda sat at the reception desk at the rear of the main hall.· A VW's engine is at the rear of the vehicle.
at the back of a car or other vehicle: · Just throw all your bags in the back.· Don't let the dog sit in the front -- he has to go in the back.· She couldn't see out of the rear window because of all the junk in the back of the truck.
also rear formal at the back of something, for example a building or car: · The burglars broke into the house through the back door.· The rear brakes are completely worn out.· You can put your suitcase on the back seat of the car.· They made their way toward the rear exit.· The rear carriage of the train is reserved for non-smokers.
WORD SETSacronym, nounadage, nounaffricate, nounagglutination, nounalphanumeric, adjectiveanglophone, nounantecedent, nounantonym, nounaphorism, nounarchaism, nounargot, nounaspirate, verbaspirate, nounaspiration, nounassonance, nounbaby talk, nounback, adjectiveback formation, nounbilabial, nounbody language, nouncant, nouncliché, nouncognate, adjectivecognate, nouncollocate, verbcollocation, nouncolloquial, adjectivecombining form, nouncompound, nounconcordance, nounconnotation, nounconsonant, nouncontext, nouncontraction, nouncorpus, noundative, noundeclarative, adjectivedecline, verbdecode, verbdescriptive, adjectivediction, noundiminutive, noundiminutive suffix, noundiphthong, nounelide, verbellipsis, nounelocution, nounemphasis, nounencode, verbenunciate, verb-ese, suffixetymology, nouneuphemism, nouneuphemistic, adjectiveexpression, nounfigurative, adjectivefirst language, nounformal, adjectivefricative, noungender, nounglide, nounglottal stop, nounhard, adjectivehieroglyphics, nounhigh-level, adjectivehomograph, nounhomonym, nounhomophone, nounhyperbole, nounideogram, nounidiolect, nounidiom, nounidiomatic, adjectiveinflection, nounintonation, nounIPA, nounironic, adjectivejargon, nounlabial, nounlanguage, nounlegalese, nounlexical, adjectivelexicography, nounlexicon, nounlexis, nounlingua franca, nounlinguist, nounlinguistic, adjectivelinguistics, nounlip-read, verbloanword, nounlocution, nounlong, adjectivemaxim, nounmetalanguage, nounmispronounce, verbmnemonic, nounmonosyllabic, adjectivemonosyllable, nounmorpheme, nounmorphology, nounnasal, adjectivenasal, nounneologism, nounneutral, adjectivenonce, adjectivenon-standard, adjectivenonverbal, adjectiveofficialese, nounonomatopoeia, nounopen vowel, nounorientalist, nounoxymoron, nounpalindrome, nounparagraph, nounparaphrase, verbparaphrase, nounphilology, nounphoneme, nounphonemics, nounphonetic, adjectivephonetics, nounphonic, adjectivephonology, nounphrasal, adjectivephraseology, nounpidgin, nounplosive, nounpolyglot, adjectivepolysemous, adjectivepolysyllabic, adjectiveportmanteau word, nounpragmatics, nounpreliterate, adjectivepre-verbal, adjectiveprimary stress, nounpronounce, verbpronounceable, adjectivepronunciation, nounproverb, nounpsychobabble, nounReceived Pronunciation, nounrecitation, nounregister, nounretroflex, adjectiveRP, nounschwa, nounsecondary stress, nounsecond language, nounsemantic, adjectivesemantics, nounsemiotics, nounsemi-vowel, nounshort, adjectivesibilant, adjectivesibilant, nounsic, adverbsilent, adjectivesimile, nounslang, nounsound, verbspeech, nounspeech therapy, nounspell, verbspelling, nounspoonerism, nounstandard, adjectivestem, nounstop, nounstress, nounstress, verbstressed, adjectivestress mark, nounstructuralism, nounstylistics, nounsuperlative, nounsyllabic, adjectivesyllable, nounsynonym, nounsynonymous, adjectivetechnical, adjectiveterminology, nounthesaurus, nountone, nountone language, nountoneless, adjectivetongue, nountranscribe, verbtranscription, nountrope, noununpronounceable, adjectiveunstressed, adjectiveunvoiced, adjectiveusage, nounuse, verbuse, nounvelar, adjectivevocabulary, nounvoiceless, adjectivevowel, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES The dog arched its back. He choked back tears as he described what had happened. High heels are coming back into fashion. He was getting a crick in his neck from leaning out of the window for so long. He was born in Utah but went to college back East. I spent all morning looking for a suitable present, but came home empty-handed. The first petrol-driven car was produced as far back as 1883. She looked away, fighting back her tears. That night I lay flat on my back and stared up at the ceiling. The Church will welcome him back into the fold. Janet forced back her tears. Life was beginning to get back to normal. I couldn’t get back to sleep. We go back a long way (=we have been friends for a long time). Delors claimed that the president had gone back on his word. an error that would come back to haunt them for years to come Will you be back here tonight? I’m backing the PM to the hilt on this. She struggled to hold back her tears. Now that the crisis is over, we must try to get things back on an even keel. She was struggling to keep back the tears. I grew up here; I know the place like the back of my hand (=I know it very well). He is famed for his laid-back attitude. a network of alleys and back lanes (=narrow unimportant roads, often behind a row of houses) Looking back on it, I still can’t figure out what went wrong. city workers who want to get back to nature in their holidays Henry kicked the ball into the back of the net. Thankfully, train services are now back to normal. After Ray’s operation, Mrs Stallard nursed him back to health. Companies can plough back their profits into new equipment. In the second half Leeds came roaring back with two goals in five minutes. I took a vacation to try to recover my sanity. Tina Turner’s backing singers (=people who sing with her) The police are now back at square one in their investigation. Alastair woke with a stiff neck. He was swinging his bag back and forth. I was paid £1,000, which was a lot of money back then (=a long time ago when things were different) in the 1950s. It’s too far to drive there and back in one day. I tie my hair back when I’m jogging. He took the engine apart and then put it back together again. We’ve promised to help, and there’s no turning back (=you cannot change this)! Welcome back – it’s good to see you again. The kids were playing in the back yard.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN
(also renege on an agreement formal) (=not do what you agreed to do)· Republican leaders accused Democrats of trying to renege on an agreement to have a House vote.
The dog arched its back. (=a brace that supports the neck etc) He was being fitted for a back brace.
He was being fitted for a back brace. (also catch your breath) (=start breathing normally again)· He leant against a tree until he had got his breath back.
(=make it move backwards)· Suzy backed the car into the driveway.
· He leant back in his chair and took out his pipe.
(=in order to get up)· He pushed back his chair and stood up.
· The chair leg has broken.
He choked back tears as he described what had happened. (=support it)· They challenged him to back up his claims with evidence.
High heels are coming back into fashion.· The doctors were unable to bring her back to consciousness.
(=made in case the original is lost)· Be sure you regularly make back-up copies of your data.
· The price of the book is on the back cover.
He was getting a crick in his neck from leaning out of the window for so long. (=open them)· Would you mind opening the curtains?
(=decide not to make a deal after discussing one)· Twenty-five jobs were lost after their partner pulled out of the deal.
· You'll get your deposit back when all the bills have been paid.
· When I left, the landlord refused to give me my deposit back.
(=of a house)· I heard someone knocking at the front door.· Use the back door if your boots are muddy.
He was born in Utah but went to college back East.· I banged my elbow on the front edge of the desk.
I spent all morning looking for a suitable present, but came home empty-handed.· There is a long drive with steps leading to the front entrance.
(=used to describe a calculation or plan that is written down quickly on any available small piece of paper)· She scribbled a few ideas on the back of an envelope.
The first petrol-driven car was produced as far back as 1883. (=become fashionable again)· Short skirts are coming back into fashion this year.
She looked away, fighting back her tears. That night I lay flat on my back and stared up at the ceiling. The Church will welcome him back into the fold. (=of an animal)· The horse lifted its back foot.
Janet forced back her tears. (=discover new things)
British English (=behind a house)· The children are playing in the back garden.
(=the gate in front of or at the back of a building)· She stood outside the front gate of the cottage.
Life was beginning to get back to normal. I couldn’t get back to sleep. We go back a long way (=we have been friends for a long time). Delors claimed that the president had gone back on his word. (=one that gives you back the money you paid if there is a problem)· The company offers a 30-day, money-back guarantee on all its products.
(=the outside surface of your hand)· Let a dog sniff the back of your hand, rather than your fingers.
an error that would come back to haunt them for years to come Will you be back here tonight? I’m backing the PM to the hilt on this. She struggled to hold back her tears. Now that the crisis is over, we must try to get things back on an even keel. She was struggling to keep back the tears.· She felt in her pocket for the front door key.
I grew up here; I know the place like the back of my hand (=I know it very well). He is famed for his laid-back attitude. a network of alleys and back lanes (=narrow unimportant roads, often behind a row of houses)· Have you taken those books back to the library?
(=give back the money you borrowed, usually over a period of time)· You can repay the loan early without a penalty.
Looking back on it, I still can’t figure out what went wrong. (also rekindle/revive memories formal) (=make you remember something)· For many older people, the film brought back memories of the war.
(=you suddenly remember things clearly)· Evelyn hugged her daughter, as memories came flooding back to her.
(also refund somebody’s money) (=give money back to a customer)· We regret that we are unable to refund money on tickets.
city workers who want to get back to nature in their holidays Henry kicked the ball into the back of the net. Thankfully, train services are now back to normal. After Ray’s operation, Mrs Stallard nursed him back to health. (=used to say when or how something began)· The school’s origins go back to the 12th century.
(=of a newspaper)· Her picture was on the front page of every newspaper.
· Many people suffer from back pain.
Companies can plough back their profits into new equipment.· He took a wad of money from his back pocket.
· He was born with heart problems.
(=break it)· They were angry that the company had gone back on its promise.
· Not one of these organizations supports the government's proposals.
· Get to the back of the queue!
(=make them realize what is happening around them or true)· She was brought back to reality by the pain in her ankle.
(=rent you owe for an earlier period)· Mrs Carr said she is still owed several thousand dollars in back rent.
(=a small road that is not used much)· He drove into a quiet side road and stopped the car.
In the second half Leeds came roaring back with two goals in five minutes. I took a vacation to try to recover my sanity. (=in a car)· Never leave bags on the back seat of a car.
· The audience clapped as he returned to his seat.
Tina Turner’s backing singers (=people who sing with her) (=sleep again after waking up)· He shut his eyes and went back to sleep.
The police are now back at square one in their investigation. (=used when you start something again because you were not successful the first time) Okay, let’s go back to square one and try again.
Okay, let’s go back to square one and try again. Alastair woke with a stiff neck. (=a small quiet street near the main street)· The restaurant is tucked away in a side street.
· Somehow I just knew in the end we would get back to the subject of money.
He was swinging his bag back and forth. (=not cry even though you feel like crying)· She gave her version of events, often struggling to hold back the tears.
(=try not to cry)· She fought back tears yesterday as she re-lived the horrors she had seen.
I was paid £1,000, which was a lot of money back then (=a long time ago when things were different) in the 1950s. It’s too far to drive there and back in one day. I tie my hair back when I’m jogging. He took the engine apart and then put it back together again.· Some of his front teeth were missing.
We’ve promised to help, and there’s no turning back (=you cannot change this)! (=make it show an earlier time)· On Saturday night, don’t forget to put your watch back an hour.
Welcome back – it’s good to see you again.· Stand well back from the edge of the platform.
· The rear wheels of the bus got stuck in a creek.
· The burglar had got in through one of the back windows.
· His doctor agreed he was fit enough to return to work.
The kids were playing in the back yard.· Then we took off down the back alleys in case some one saw us and told our parents.· Give me a dark back alley compared with being a pinball in the gallery of the desperate.· We exited into a back alley via the fire door.· Riot police stood guard even in tiny back alleys.· When I woke up I was in some back alley.· When the bars closed, she and her sister drove through back alleys hunting for him.· I found an old coat thrown across a garbage can in a back alley.· But then so am I if I saw a lion wandering around the back alleys of Danang, right?
· Below the attics was a back bedroom looking out over the flower garden, and so on to the main road beyond.· She waits until we are in the back bedroom.· The police were then called to the house and found two people tied up in a back bedroom.· So we all hid in this one back bedroom, and Leonard was going, Everybody get covered.· Four children, including a 16year-old babysitter, were trapped upstairs watching television in a back bedroom.· She led me not to the sitting room but through to the back bedroom.· Fire crews broke into the back bedroom and pulled out Shona Smith, 16 months, and Gavin Hurley, 8.
· It had begun exploding when you lit the back burners, and Mrs Hooper was getting too nervous to touch it.· Issues like desegregation go on the back burner.· Their food was boiling in a pan on the back burner of the gas-stove in the alcove by the pantry door.· The hazardous weather conditions put concerns about budget developments and the economy on the back burner.· That put any promotion aspirations on the back burner.· Their other project, meanwhile, is on the back burner.· So for most of that period, the new perfume project was on the back burner.
· Five years after they split, they are more influential than ever and their back catalogue is about to be reissued.
· You can do this simply by thumbing through back copies of the newspaper and seeing who writes environmental articles.
· The climb lies on a wall just above the east descent route in the back corner of the quarry.· Tucked into the back corner of the space is the center's resource library and activity area.· Drab-olive military packages of emergency rations and water are tucked into a back corner of the sphere.· You can further reduce the boxy look of the tank by disguising the inside back corners with decor material.· The great men held the room in their gaze, even the back corner by the windows.· Perhaps Gladys would join the group of Leicester ladies who were fluttering with anticipation in the back corner.· Three days later the Largemouth pair spawned, over a flat slate at the back corner.
· Please refer to the back cover of this brochure for more details.· It comes with a fold-out map inside its back cover.· The glossary of terms on the inside back cover provides definitions of reserves categories.· Full details of what promise to be uplifting and enjoyable celebrations are carried on page 4 and the back cover.· A list of symbols is inside the back cover.· These are listed by District, and located on the map on the back cover.· Soon our young author will be putting call numbers and library cards on the back cover of a six-word book!
· It pounded the soft earth and gurgled along the gutters to splash with relentless monotony into the tub outside the back door.· If he had a chance to pull a fast one or sneak in the back door, he would do it.· She took her oilskin from the hook on the back door, buttoned herself into it and stepped out, still undetected.· Lincoln whined at the back door and I let him out.· Two men, both thought to be in their twenties, broke down the back door of his home in Bletchley.· By this time the other three men entered at the back door.· I wanted to keep the back door locked and you couldn't do that from inside.· Back when me and my buddies were barricading the front door, who left the back door open?
· Yet it will soak up heavy bumps that would otherwise bounce the back end off the ground.· She barely fit, with some of her hanging out the back end.· Observant readers will also notice a new look to the columnists who grace the back end of our editorial pages.· This is no more than planning the back end of your leave, just as you planned the front end.· The Audi followed, spinning slightly on the wet road, the back end swinging round as the driver revved too hard.· Without him, the tiller man, the back end was snaking from side to side.· The door in the back end of the tractor-shed was off this.· At the back end, that is, and as soon as you step on to it, you salute.
· There's no back entrance, no side entrance.· They had in mind a back entrance occasionally used by delivery trucks in the dead of night.· It was parked outside the back entrance to a two-storey building.· As we return to the school we cut across the large paved parking lot and head for the back entrance.· With a sigh, Hari moved to the back entrance and knocked again.· I followed, and found a space in the car park near the back entrance to the supermarket.· At the back entrance to the chapel, Jack came to a shuddering halt.· Unfortunately, it used a back entrance to the den and disappeared from view.
· Your back foot should be far enough in the back strap to straddle the centreline of the board.· Exercise Experiment with varying positions and different amounts of weight on the back foot when you head into the wind.· With the track forwards, the front or back foot can be placed in the strap.· Most of your weight should be on the back foot.· In his interviews, he plays too much off the back foot, letting the Dimblebys and Waldens bully him.· Place your front foot in the training strap, using the back foot to keep the board level. 3.· Place your back foot in the front high wind strap. 5.· Notice the back foot position on the centreline and look how the hands are well down the boom in a sailing position.
· The soldiers meanwhile were looking into back gardens, dustbins and under hedgerows.· He thought he was doing me a favor because it had taken over much of our tiny back garden.· She looks out over the back gardens of John's quiet neighbours.· With a glance around, Stone padded silently round to the back gardens, and approached his garage from the rear.· A well was sunk in the back garden, and water could be pumped up from it into the kitchen.· They walked together through the trellis arch into the back garden.
· We left by the back gate of the manor following a trackway through a wood.· The back gate was raised, the canvas flaps lowered, and we were on our way.· We deployed on to the cold, deserted streets, two teams from the back gate and one from the front.· I got in through the back gate without being challenged.· She entered the kitchen from the back gate closing the door on the small yard with a click of finality.· He opened the little back gate and peered around in the dark for the shelter.· I can open the back gate at midnight.
· That all stopped when I got a back injury at school.· I was successful until old neck and back injuries resurfaced.· Becker has a stomach virus while Lendl has a back injury.· The Broncos lost starting guard Brian Habib with a lower back injury in the first quarter at Buffalo.· A back injury effectively ended his career seven years ago.· During the attack, one Marine fell into a shallow ravine and suffered a serious back injury.· Deborah Green, 28, a passenger, was taken to the hospital by air ambulance, suffering from back injuries.· Further risks are the increase in diesel fumes, back injuries, dermatitis and stress-related problems - all increasing in coal mines.
· Anyway, I thought you ought to know you have your reader back, and I enclose £4 for 4 back issues.· Mackey had seen handbooks on guerrilla tactics, back issues of a racist magazine Guy published.· I look forward to hearing from you, and very much hope that you are able to help with the back issues.· I sent off for back issues and devoured them.· Six issues cost $ 39, and new and back issues are available.· Lifelong readers who kept the back issues piled in their attics renewed their subscriptions like clockwork at the five-year rate.
· The back lane, roughly on the line of the original through road, is exactly that.· Wolfenden had come and gone, but persecution was still abroad in the streets and back lanes of Tyneside.· Petitions for lighting in the back lanes of the Denes area and in Great Stainton were handed in.· The back lanes in the North Road area have been atrocious, people were dumping their rubbish in them.
· In other chairs the arm is integral to the front and back legs, and must be fitted at an earlier stage.· A black horse was galloping down it, frisking his back legs like a colt.· His big rough hands snip and snip-ears, a tail, back legs.· Leaning over for balance, take hold of your front ankle and raise the back leg.· Others crouched on their haunches and kicked out their back legs behind them, like men carrying out a complex fitness programme.· His body was twisted and his hind-parts and back legs still lay along the ground.· At the same time lift the back leg off the floor, bringing the heel towards your bottom.
· She liked to stick around, see the results, maybe enjoy some off-camera larks in the back office.· In 1979 Tom Kendall joined the desk from Wharton, with a brief intervening stop in the back office.· Companies will start start moving their back offices from central Tokyo to cheaper areas.· The first traders had their origin, like Lewie, in the back office.· And when I ran mortgages, I religiously took people from the back office.
· The back page has a strip called Haggis, which is about a black highland terrier and his adventures.· The Arizona Daily Star carried one short blurb in the back pages, but that was it.· Check out the back pages for more information.· Take a look at the back page of your morning paper.· Did you spot the Premier League faces in our back page picture?· Unfortunately, the news was reported in the back pages.· Several other blooms lay bright and brittle between the back pages of the diary, each one neatly labelled.· A few pages of sexy display ads for resorts and tours popped up in the back pages.
· Walking can improve your posture and may prevent lower back pain.· After the 1994 Olympics, Grinkov struggled with back pain, but the couple continued to skate as professionals.· He is an engineer who came to study the spine because of his own back pains.· Another side effect of flying in cramped quarters is back pain.· As well as Swindon's economic ills, she's hoping Dons can help cure her back pains.· And as Tavris has pointed out, chronic lower back pain can cause depression and irritability.· Sometimes excruciating back pain, or chronic stomach trouble.· But no one would think to call a sprained ankle or lower back pain a mental disorder.
· Joe Worrall who had a good game otherwise, decided this was a back pass.· I was astonished how fast the game has become since the back pass rule has changed.· Possession is nine-tenths of the law and the back pass is safe and sure.· A back pass to McConnell saw the keeper mis-hit the clearance to Ferguson who provided the perfect lob into the net.· This time the keeper made a hash of a back pass from Brown.· He can not handle the back pass ... never has done.· The defence as a whole do not deal with the back pass rule well.
· The Ministry of Finance has set aside funds to cover workers' back pay and the mines' debts.· Homar sued for reinstatement of his job, back pay and money damages.
· He'd peeled them off a roll that he'd pulled out of his back pocket.· Nothing gets stowed in back pockets.· He fiddles about in his back pocket and finds his wallet.· With his weight settled back on the bed, Primo felt something in his back pocket.· I took the wad of twenties out of the bag and stuffed them into the back pocket of my jeans.· A: Brittania jeans without a back pocket.· Before setting off, when all had been packed away, I unwittingly slipped my clip-on sun-glasses into my back pocket.· For a few months, Goldmann ran the Presidents Conference out of his back pocket as one more title.
· Ilsa's house was dark and we padded through to the back porch like conspirators.· Near their back porch, they said, rats scamper about, and maggots slither near trash bins.· It was still goo, so she put it out on the back porch for the cat.· Then he gave a little nod, an apology for interrupting, and leaned the bike against the back porch.· Looking up the hollow from our back porch, the mown field was the only sign of human endeavor.· Sometimes she sits in a lounge chair on the back porch and stares off into space.· Sounds like just the ticket for a shady back porch, cool glass of sun tea and thou.· But the old man had come out on the back porch.
· He already travels with a corset for his back problems and leg strapping.· Every hockey player in the world has back problems.· Most back problems originate in this area, but they could be easily avoided by regular exercise of the spinal erectors.· Then the back problem was revealed.· Because I was experiencing shooting sensations around my hips, the doctor was convinced I had a back problem.· Is his back problem more serious?· But his back problem is routine.· Men get more ulcers, hernias, and back problems.
· But once you're used to it the bike feels totally comfortable scratching through the twists and turns of back roads.· That afternoon I drove nonstop over the back roads of Ames and Bern townships.· She knew every mile of the back roads to Kells through Kilcock, Trim and Fordstown.· A far better alternative was to walk the back roads and country lanes.· But I slip down a couple of back roads and I find it soon enough.· People always honk at me for that so I try to take the back roads.· But don't get carried away with thoughts of throwing an agile Harley around the back roads.
· In my father's house, I took the back room.· The children sat in their corner of the back room and grumbled over their grasshoppers.· He must have been hiding in the back room behind the stage all the time.· Foaming schooners, free lunch, fish fry Fridays, poker in the back room, arguments settled in the alley.· More pilots ran out of the back room, aroused by the uproar, and joined in the fist-fight.· Ask him if you and he did it last week in a back room.· A biology student with a stutter now occupied the back room.· The other four victims found in the back room or office were nude.
· A child whimpered in the back row.· At the age of nine I wondered how I would handle my eventual initiation to the back row seating.· At times like this the back row inclined to craven panic.· Newport, well served by Moseley and Waters at the line-out and also by their back row, were looking increasingly confident.· The back row broke out in its loudest laughter yet.· When he saw that Mass was to be in the Lady Chapel he moved across and sat in the back row.· There was a scramble for chairs in the back rows, but I was not one of the lucky ones.
· In the back seat a thin face stared ahead.· Maisha giggles and the boys jump in the back seat.· In the back seats, Angus and Sawney.· Then she sits down in the back seat, Black shuts the door, and the cab takes off.· I am driving along a narrow main road, used by fast-moving traffic, with my children in the back seat.· He notes, however, that economic considerations are taking a back seat to budget negotiations.· Florence re-emerged holding a plastic raincoat over herself and the baby, and got into the back seat.· In the Treasury market, Washington budget wranglings took a back seat to empty desks as prices barely budged.
· Place these over the yellow icing and cut out a front side, a back side, and the two ends.· Godson skied out of bounds down the back side into deep woods to which he was a stranger.· The two were on an unmarked trail, taking them deeper into the pathless woods on the back side of Killington Peak.· My right one, sort of like some one brushed the back side of it.· Pipes and threaded connectors attached to the back sides serve as handles for technicians who carry and install the 700-pound panels.· The postmarks stretched across the top of the envelope in the front and continued on to the back side.
· Right guard Kevin Gogan had a hip pointer and back spasms.· They won without point guard Cameron Murray, who played only two minutes before departing with back spasms.· With Loy Vaught bothered by back spasms, Murray got his first start since Jan. 20.
· She put on her robe, lit the candle and went on tip-toe down the back stairs and into the kitchen.· I was shown up a narrow back stair to a small white room with a very hard bed in one corner.· Unfortunately it was the door that led to the back stairs.· I set my mug aside, unplugged the coffeepot, locked the office, and trotted down the back stairs.· At the top of the back stairs I made them wait.· You came up the back stairs?· Shaking the snow off their hair and coats, the girls skitter up the back stairs into the factory.· With this intention firmly planted in her mind, she headed for the back stairs leading down into the kitchens.
· We drove along the back streets.· Auguste, the bouncer he picked up in the back streets of Montreal, squeezes my windbreaker before letting me in.· And this was how many such agents lived, in rooms in the back streets of cities.· The result is evident in the back streets and courtyards, which Atalla judiciously avoids with a foreign visitor.· Iain and Tommy drank together on the back streets of Pinner.· I have found one must speak slowly to people who live in the back streets of London.· I got Armstrong fired up and headed towards Hackney, using the back streets to avoid the worst of the rush hour.· And the kind of food and wine that would cost a few francs in a back street cafe.
· And work out a suitable figure to be paid in back tax from 1952.· The Internal Revenue Service has been battling him for years for back taxes and penalties related to one venture.· It is doubtful whether the council will be able to recover all the back tax or enforce the costs order.· He owes $ 218, 000 in back taxes and penalties.
· On the extreme left-hand end of the back wall is Eastern Touch, E4 6a.· The honeysuckle had climbed the back wall of the house and its fragrance filled my old room.· The mill pond is still maintained in good order although it is smaller, formerly extending right up to the back wall.· On the back wall of the produce shed hangs a schoolroom map of the continental United States.· Cushions, the large hard Arabian cushions, stood neatly along the back wall.· Q: I planted nine tomatoes by a wooden fence and six close to the back wall of the house.· The water was fed to the mill through a cast iron sluice box set in the back wall.· Kitty stood against the back wall, stony, her face blotchy from tears wept in solitude.
· Maybe I jump out the back way.· Manuel Gustavo arrives, and when no one answers the door, comes in the back way.· They left the streets, making their way across gardens and by back ways into the town to hide in buildings.· Guess they took an opportunity to take the picturesque back way to the zoo while it still exists.· When they reached the stables a groom took the horses and Rain and Ayling entered the house by a back way.· Then he and Jimmy Biondo wrapped Billy in my yellow blanket and carried him down the back way to the alley.· Frank has made a career of knocking on doors, finding the wood is solid and going round the back way.
· Jekub's back wheels were nearly as high as a human.· If the car begins to fishtail, the back wheels have lost grip.· He stabbed the brake, stabbed too hard, and his back wheels slurred in the dirt.· His breathing sounds like the cardboard flap you pin to the back wheel of your bike to make a motorcycle.· The discharged cartridge cases were in the roadway and the gutter, close to the back wheel of the taxi.· If you have quick release wheels, take off the front wheel and lock it to the frame and back wheel.· Later I removed the back wheel, refitted it, adjusted the chain tension and replaced a headlight bulb.· I felt the sinking whir of the back wheel as it dug its own grave.
· Easky's spire could be seen from the back window from many miles away.· I wave a potato masher at her from the back window.· I know what his car's like - it's yellow, and he's got this sticker on the back window.· He threw each of the twelve bags through the open back window.· At the back window, the oaks and the steep brown hill looked wonderfully romantic in the deluge.· Then he went to the back window and shot me three times in the head.· There were shots, and the back window powdered.· Henry made his way through Danny's yard and peeped through the back window.
· Springy, sheep-cropped turf, crisscrossed with dry stone walls, ran down to the back yards of the houses.· Even when I was a toddler, a pick-your-own trip to her back yard was the highlight of any visit.· Please take a look in your own back yard before pointing out the mess in others'.· Tyros get kick-started by taking shoeless jaunts around their house, back yard and neighborhood before hitting the trail.· It was cool and fresh in the summer, the back yard blooming with wallflowers and purple bells.· I shall never never never forget your back yard, planetarium and ham radio shed.· Nine months ago Tessa the Collie was found starving in a back yard in Aylesbury.· They fought through the night to stop the brown water creeping across their back yard.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRYPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► get in through the back door► back seat driver► bite something ↔ back► bring something ↔ back► bring something ↔ back► bring something ↔ back► bring somebody ↔ back► put/leave something on the back burner► call (somebody) back► cut something ↔ back► back in the day► lie back and think of England► fight something ↔ back► get somebody back► get something ↔ back► the clocks go back► can do something with one hand (tied) behind your back► go to hell and back► keep something ↔ back► keep something ↔ back► keep somebody ↔ back► keep something ↔ back► my head/back etc is killing me► knock something ↔ back► knock somebody back something► knock somebody back► it fell off the back of a lorry► a monkey on your back► pull something ↔ back► put your back out► put somebody/something ↔ back► put something ↔ back► put something ↔ back► put a clock/watch back► rick your back/neck► I’ll be right with you/right there/right back► put the roses back in somebody’s cheeks► you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours► be glad/pleased etc to see the back of somebody/something► set somebody/something ↔ back► take something ↔ back► take something ↔ back► take somebody back► like water off a duck’s back
1at or in the back of something OPP front: - A far better alternative was to walk the back roads and country lanes.
- And this was how many such agents lived, in rooms in the back streets of cities.
- I have found one must speak slowly to people who live in the back streets of London.
- Iain and Tommy drank together on the back streets of Pinner.
- Now they left the main road for the quieter, dimmer back streets.
- People always honk at me for that so I try to take the back roads.
- That afternoon I drove nonstop over the back roads of Ames and Bern townships.
- The back lane, roughly on the line of the original through road, is exactly that.
- A former landlord said she was still owed several thousand dollars in back rent.
- Dave Escott bought at the height of the boom, and any back rent will only add to his negative equity.
- He owes $ 10, 000 in back taxes.
- Homar sued for reinstatement of his job, back pay and money damages.
- I needed a release from the tax office showing that I owed no back taxes.
- Look, she said, he's left, bolted, owing three months' back rent.
- Next: What to do when you can not afford to pay back taxes.
- The Internal Revenue Service has been battling him for years for back taxes and penalties related to one venture.
- A little later Bacon appeared, walked up to their table and asked Minton why he did not look after his back numbers.
- Anyway, I thought you ought to know you have your reader back, and I enclose £4 for 4 back issues.
- Lifelong readers who kept the back issues piled in their attics renewed their subscriptions like clockwork at the five-year rate.
- Mackey had seen handbooks on guerrilla tactics, back issues of a racist magazine Guy published.
- My parents collected all their copies of Wimpey News and we have back numbers going back to the 1940s.
- Six issues cost $ 39, and new and back issues are available.
- Women have often been forced to take a back seat in society.
- And very generally, the interests of lenders in New York take a back seat to the interests of the corporate borrowers.
- But when they were introduced, everything upstairs had to take a back seat.
- He notes, however, that economic considerations are taking a back seat to budget negotiations.
- If you can't agree to disagree, then take a back seat and let others have their way on this occasion.
- It was also a year when investment bankers took a back seat.
- Many feel reluctant to take a back seat and allow their children to enjoy the special attractiveness of the teens and twenties.
- Mr Peters has now taken a back seat.
- That her family had taken a back seat in her life.
- A sweetheart, this little lady, not bad legs either.
- For Joshua, at sixty-two, and suffering from a bad leg, distances had begun to take on an extraordinary significance.
- He had a bad back as well, you know, just like Rich.
- He had a bad leg and they kept on at him to hurry up.
- Medical deferment for a very bad heart.
- That coming from him who would go sick with a bad back whenever a job tired him.
- The problems-from bad backs to carpal tunnel syndrome to headaches-have made the headlines of every health magazine in the country.
- A constructive response to the Howie Report would be more pertinent than saloon-bar simplicities about getting back to basics.
- His party claims to be the party of law and order, the family, back to basics.
- In other words, forget your fancy gender studies: the neo-Darwinists were marching us back to basics.
- Last Wednesday was all about back to basics and glimpses of optimism.
- Now, however, it seems that the route to success may once again involve going back to basics.
- This month's personal finance column therefore takes a back to basics look at expatriate tax.
- Try to counter nervousness by getting right back to basics.
- I noticed that his hands were trembling slightly, and he seemed to be blinking back tears.
- She needed to blink away tears.
- Touching the welt, Howard tried to blink back tears before going inside.
- A combination of ground and air action broke the back of the rebellion.
- His two interceptions Sunday broke the back of the Pittsburgh Steelers as Dallas won the duel in the desert, 27-17.
- In Czechoslovakia last March Martin Keown nearly broke the back of the net with a long-range effort.
- It would have been nice for him to wind things up by breaking the back of Britain's opposition to integration.
- Pouring over its latest simulation runs, Sun is confident it has broken the back of the technical problem.
- Their thunderous charges have broken the back of many an invading army.
- Food brought me back to the human face.
- He had felt ashamed the first time he put it on: it brought him back to his ugliness.
- Polishing with a soft cloth will bring the surface back to life.
- She brings the papers back to her office and shuts the door.
- This brings us back to the expressive order.
- We must bring that cup back to Oxfordshire.
- Which brings us back to red wine.
- Which brings us back to why this period is one of some urgency.
- After appearing to be in terminal decline the monarchy is back in business.
- By the summer of 1992 the dress patrols were back in business.
- Last week, Peron was back in business, with a few cosmetic changes.
- Male speaker We're setting up in another hangar and hope to be back in business soon.
- Nice to see Dave Hill's barber is back in business.
- Stop Press: Liverpool is back in business.
- The company was back in business.
- The Cumberland Tavern - now under new management - is back in business as a rock venue.
- Cast you mind back a few weeks to the Athletics Championship in Armagh.
- He frowned, casting his mind back over the conversation they had held.
- Henry cast his mind back to the fateful evening.
- Lisa, if you cast your mind back, I think you'll recall that it was your idea.
- Again, more in control of matters, he cast his mind back.
- He cast his mind back to his homecoming earlier that evening.
- He racked his brains, he cast his mind back.
- I cast my mind back to our excited departure from Gatwick airport.
- Let us cast our minds back to the referendum.
- If I could turn the clock back, I don't think I'd study law again.
- It would be nice to put the clock back to the years when Mum and Dad were still alive.
- He thinks you can turn the clock back.
- It was almost like turning the clock back a couple of centuries.
- Not unless they fell into Morton's hands. Turn the clock back.
- Or not lie, maybe. Turn the clock back.
- The most important thing now is not to turn the clock back.
- This great divide can not be bridged by turning the clock back.
- We can not turn the clock back.
- What is past is past and you can not turn the clock back.
- Anyway, even if one wanted to, one couldn't put the clock back to an earlier age.
- I can't put the clock back.
- They were therefore accused of putting the clock back and bringing the best hope of Christendom to an impasse.
- I, like many other riders, am eagerly awaiting the clocks going forward.
- Police say they had to enforce the law after 1am when the clocks went forward an hour.
- When the clocks go back in late October it will be dark by five o'clock in the afternoon.
- It's a back-handed compliment really, you know.
- A few weeks later Patrick Ashby came back from the dead and went home to inherit the family house and fortune.
- Friends don't come back from the dead, Leila thought, rampaging through the corridor from the canteen.
- The single engine airplane business came back from the dead after the General Aviation Revitalization Act made it harder to sue.
- When Cardiff had come back from the dead, he had shrunk away back down the hessian-screen corridor towards Rohmer.
- Voters rejected the bridge expansion plan, so it's back to the drawing board for city engineers.
- For San Jose, it was back to the drawing board.
- So Superman, once the most recognized and revered hero in comic books, was sent back to the drawing board.
- Sometimes, you also have to go back to the drawing board.
- The Cta episode has therefore sent the whole idea of direct dating of petroglyphs back to the drawing board.
- They must go back to the drawing board and review the whole of youth training.
- They want to see the road plan sent back to the drawing board.
- You also could go back to the drawing board with that budget, trying to reduce costs.
- You have to discard the propeller engine and go back to the drawing board.
- Adai can come back to Earth after Gog is dead - after I am dead, perhaps.
- AIr travellers came down to earth with a bump yesterday when they joined in some charity aerobics.
- In Karuzi you quickly come down to earth.
- Maybe, but the once pricey products that use this satellite technology have come down to earth.
- Peter Lilley came down to earth.
- They recently have come down to Earth.
- When you're looking after a two year old, you need to have eyes in the back of your head.
- You need to have eyes in the back of your head to be a teacher.
- Arthur was flat on his back under the car.
- I've been flat on my back with the flu all week.
- Babs said it was all very well but had he forgotten their leading man was flat on his back in Sefton General?
- What else would he need if he were going to be flat on his back or stomach?
- But we are reliably informed that Angus will be back on his feet and more importantly that seat tomorrow.
- He got back on his feet, and they all made another parade around the stage.
- In those early years, Macey helped Dole literally get back on his feet.
- It was an inexpensive, safe, stable environment for families while they got back on their feet.
- Never got back on her feet again, really.
- The Mirror Group would soon be back on its feet.
- We can get back on our feet.
- There's no going back, even if I wanted to, which I don't.
- Too late you realize that there's no going back.
- For Casey, there was no holding back when it came to music.
- I had to eat with one hand and hold the hair back with the other-it was so fiddly.
- Its plush vegetation crowded the restraining fence that had been made strong, damned near impregnable, to hold it back.
- No walls, no fences, nothing to hold him back.
- Suddenly she holds some back as if still determined to drive the hardest possible bargain.
- That wildfire feeling might have got a hold a month back, but it would not be allowed to do so again.
- The whistle postponed it, held it back until announcing the morning shift at six.
- His wife had to hold him back.
- I had to eat with one hand and hold the hair back with the other-it was so fiddly.
- Its plush vegetation crowded the restraining fence that had been made strong, damned near impregnable, to hold it back.
- No walls, no fences, nothing to hold him back.
- Suddenly she holds some back as if still determined to drive the hardest possible bargain.
- That wildfire feeling might have got a hold a month back, but it would not be allowed to do so again.
- His wife had to hold him back.
- I had to eat with one hand and hold the hair back with the other-it was so fiddly.
- Its plush vegetation crowded the restraining fence that had been made strong, damned near impregnable, to hold it back.
- No walls, no fences, nothing to hold him back.
- Suddenly she holds some back as if still determined to drive the hardest possible bargain.
- That wildfire feeling might have got a hold a month back, but it would not be allowed to do so again.
- The whistle postponed it, held it back until announcing the morning shift at six.
- His wife had to hold him back.
- I had to eat with one hand and hold the hair back with the other-it was so fiddly.
- No walls, no fences, nothing to hold him back.
- Suddenly she holds some back as if still determined to drive the hardest possible bargain.
- That wildfire feeling might have got a hold a month back, but it would not be allowed to do so again.
- The whistle postponed it, held it back until announcing the morning shift at six.
- His wife had to hold him back.
- Its plush vegetation crowded the restraining fence that had been made strong, damned near impregnable, to hold it back.
- Suddenly she holds some back as if still determined to drive the hardest possible bargain.
- That wildfire feeling might have got a hold a month back, but it would not be allowed to do so again.
- The whistle postponed it, held it back until announcing the morning shift at six.
- After Berg left baseball in 1978, he never looked back.
- After this he would never look back.
- And it was a strange feeling for Lois when she saw Paul do just that and never look back.
- He grabbed the points race lead for good in late April and virtually never looked back.
- Her studies were interrupted by the opportunity to go into local politics, from which she has never looked back.
- Mandy Rice-Davies meant good times, and never looking back.
- Once he learned to ride his gains and cut his losses, he never looked back.
- She never looked back to see what was chasing her, just woke in a cramped sweat, breathless and in tears.
- Today their dreams have come true partially because they burned their bridges and never looked back.
- He longed to explore, to take the wild adventure of going completely back to nature.
- Such language glances back to nature worship.
- When people talk of going back to nature, do they really know what they are asking for?
- But you can get your own back.
- By launching the new forum Mr Heseltine is getting his own back on the now weakened Mr Lamont.
- I've gotta get my own back.
- I hope you haven't gone and done anything silly to it just to get your own back for me going away.
- The only way Scott could get his own back was by replacing my voice during the post-production.
- Tupac stoked the feud, claiming to have slept with Biggie Smalls's wife, Smalls threatened to get his own back.
- Was that a way of getting his own back?
- Women get their own back by borrowing their man's razor.
- She should pat herself on the back and take a well-earned break.
- Because when I pat myself on the back, the next sensation is usually a sharp kick lower down.
- Cliff Nudelman pats me on the back.
- Every person on the street will pat you on the back.
- For most of that ride it patted itself on the back.
- How dare she wave her bloody job at us like she wanted us to pat her on the back for it?
- I patted him on the back as hard as I dared but he still couldn't breathe.
- The manager patted Stuart on the back.
- This time I patted myself on the back all the way to the hotel.
- I think you all deserve a pat on the back for your hard work.
- I think we should give Fairclough a pat on the back for his performances in the last few games.
- It amounts to a pat on the back.
- Just a smile or a pat on the back may keep a student working.
- No one gets past him without an encouraging word, a pat on the back, a smile.
- Now congratulate your loved one and give yourself a pat on the back as well for your own agility around the course.
- That was intended to be a pat on the back - as one of several others - for me.
- The tournament-sponsoring Thunderbirds deserve a pat on the back.
- Try starting with a pat on the back to soften the blow of criticism.
- He was back on the rails, and moving again.
- It seems that matters have fallen behind schedule and need to be put back on the rails.
- Better than that was riding on his back while he went down on hands and knees and neighed like a horse.
- Dostoevsky wanted to stifle the thought that he was riding on the back of Nechacv's perverse glamour.
- Just by riding on your shoulders, Newt.
- Oblivious to the emotion riding on their backs, Aureole and Pinza came to Epsom with excellent credentials.
- Or you can ride on my back, if you prefer.
- People on welfare are not taking a ride on the backs of other people.
- Power can not ride on an upright back.
- But he rolled back the years wearing his old jockeys' uniform in the Radcliffe Selling Stakes at Nottingham.
- Quality will have to take a back seat to price when we buy the new furniture.
- And very generally, the interests of lenders in New York take a back seat to the interests of the corporate borrowers.
- As the race drew closer it was time for Paul to take a back seat.
- But when they were introduced, everything upstairs had to take a back seat.
- Golf Faldo forced to take a back seat to Walker Cup team.
- He notes, however, that economic considerations are taking a back seat to budget negotiations.
- It was also a year when investment bankers took a back seat.
- Long-term planning took a back seat in the deliberations of the senior engineers whose efforts were principally devoted to overcoming short-term problems.
- Turning the original classic topsy-turvy, Stoppard makes Hamlet himself take a back seat and elevates two minor characters to star status.
- Forbes slapped me on the back.
- He rushed over and slapped me on the back as I lifted a highball to my lips.
- I go to slap her on the back but she waves my arm away impatiently.
- In those days it was considered bad form even to slap you on the back.
- Jack said, and he slapped Streeter on the back of the head with his gun hand.
- She slapped him on the back.
- She intended to slap Elisabeth on the back, but she was too late.
- a congratulatory slap on the back
- A hot water bottle in the small of your back should help.
- As the skaters skated, they sometimes tucked one arm into the small of their backs.
- But then he was sandwiched between the door and the floor level, concrete lip digging into the small of his back.
- Her white sweatshirt is bunched up and tucked in at the small of her back, so her rear is exposed.
- I could see the great livid weals of scars running across the small of her back and down her mighty thighs.
- I stroke the small of his back.
- She moved her hand to the small of his back and propelled him across the porch.
- When he stepped forward to use the other hand, something cracked into the small of his back, and he stumbled.
- He seems friendly, but he wouldn't hesitate to stab you in the back if he thought it would help him get your job.
- Thatcher was stabbed in the back by her former friends and colleagues in the Conservative Party.
- I see, you criticize my appearance, and then you stab me in the back!
- Some one reached through an open window and stabbed Bastidas in the back.
- Why stab Manchester in the back for helping to create a bigger northern network of clubs, raves and fashion outlets?
- I was stabbed in the back because I don't have those problems with Steve.
- It's so many stabs in the back ... It's the whole system which is tucking us up.
- MacQuillan had been stabbed in the back, there were no palm or fingerprints on the weapon.
- Nationalists supported the Wilson/Callaghan governments for years, only to be stabbed in the back in the end.
- If we lose tomorrow, we'll be back where we started.
- And if you decide that they are not, then you are back where you started.
- So my client and I are back where we started.
- To a large extent we are back where we started.
- For first time in his life, he was being thrown back on the his own resources.
- He was about to be thrown back on the bloody rubbish heap, or worse.
- The result is that they are thrown back on their own individual and collective resources.
- It was no fun having my own words thrown back at me by my kids.
- A lot of their love would be rebuffed or thrown back in their faces.
- My love - my name thrown back in my face.
- Nobody was throwing anything in their faces.
- This would be thrown back in his face later by North Koreaand sooner than anyone guessed.
- He had only to pick one of them up to be transported back to the time and place of its acquisition.
- Years later, at a sound, sight or scent, you can be transported back to that place.
- He turned his back on Shauna and walked to the window.
- He would never turn his back on a fellow veteran.
- Many immigrants turn their back on the old ways.
- He turned his back abruptly and walked away.
- He acknowledged his paternity when he could have easily turned his back on him and told him he was a servant.
- I handed him back that hundred dollars and turned my back and took him in.
- Kissinger said it was disgraceful that the United States had turned its back on one of her oldest and closest friends.
- So in the end I turned my back on it and walked away.
- Weaken, turn your back for a moment and it could be lost for good.
- Wiltshire's Social Services department has promised not to turn its back on the problem of alcoholics.
- He may be prime minister for now, but he still needs to watch his back.
- Besides which, I needed an ally at the shop, some one to watch my back should things get hairy.
- But watch your back when I get out, all right?
- But Yeltsin will have to watch his back.
- Drug traffickers and guerrillas mix with spies and mercenaries, all cautiously watching their backs.
- Enjoy it, but watch your back.
- Other agents are watching his back, he says.
- She watched his back for a moment.
- She noticed that everyone seemed to have drifted a little closer; was talking a little less, watching their backs.
You’ll be sleeping in the back bedroom. Turn to the back page. I keep my keys in my back pocket. There was the sound of giggling from the back row. The rabbit had one of its back legs caught in a trap. → back door2behind something, especially a building OPP front: the back garden We left by the back gate.3from the back: The back view of the hotel was even less appealing than the front.4back street/lane/road etc a street etc that is away from the main streets: a short cut down a back lane5back rent/taxes/pay etc money that someone owes from an earlier date6back issue/copy/number a copy of a magazine or newspaper from an earlier date7 technical a back vowel sound is made by lifting your tongue at the back of your mouth