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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

backlog.

A large log to burn at the back of a fire.

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈbæk(ˌ)lɔɡ/General-American/ˈbæk(ˌ)lɑɡ/cot-caught-merger/ˈbak(ˌ)lɔɡ/British, Southern, Standard
  1. A large log to burn at the back of a fire.

  2. A reserve source or supply.

  3. An accumulation or buildup, especially of unfilled orders, unconsumed products or unfinished work.

    He went to work on Saturday to try to work through the backlog of papers on his desk.
    Kyle purchased a new one despite having a backlog of video games that he hasn't played.
  4. A log containing text previously read, as in text-based video games or chat rooms.

Where this word comes from

From back + log. 1680s; originally a large log at the back of a fire. Figurative sense from 1880s, meaning "something stored up for later use". Possibly influenced by logbook as well.

verb/ˈbæk(ˌ)lɔɡ/General-American/ˈbæk(ˌ)lɑɡ/cot-caught-merger/ˈbak(ˌ)lɔɡ/British, Southern, Standard
  1. To acquire something as a backlog, or to become a backlog

    ambitransitive
Where this word comes from

From back + log. 1680s; originally a large log at the back of a fire. Figurative sense from 1880s, meaning "something stored up for later use". Possibly influenced by logbook as well.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.