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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

backup.

A reserve or substitute.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈbækˌʌp/
  1. A reserve or substitute.

    countable · uncountable
    If the goalkeeper is injured, we have a backup.
  2. A copy of a file or record, stored separately from the original, that can be used to recover the original if it is damaged or destroyed.

    countable · uncountable
    After the power failure, we had to restore the database from backup.
  3. An accumulation of material caused by a (partial) obstruction or (complete) blockage of the flow or movement of the material, or an accumulation of material that causes an overflow due to the flow being greater than the maximum possible flow.

    countable · uncountable
    The accident caused a mile-long backup on the highway.
    The blockage caused a backup in the plumbing.
  4. Reinforcements.

    uncountable
    He's got a gun! You'd better send for backup.
  5. Any support or extra help.

    broadly · uncountable
  6. Accompaniment.

    uncountable
  7. Corroboration.

    uncountable
Where this word comes from

Deverbal from back up.

adj/ˈbækˌʌp/
  1. Standby, reserve or extra.

    not-comparable
    I am only a backup player.
  2. That is intended as a backup.

    not-comparable
    Make a backup copy of that file.
  3. Supporting, reinforcing; (music) of or related to accompaniment

    not-comparable
Where this word comes from

Deverbal from back up.

verb/ˈbækˌʌp/
  1. Alternative form of back up.

    alt-of · alternative · nonstandard
Where this word comes from

Deverbal from back up.

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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.