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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

backwards.

Synonym of backward; see usage notes there.

9 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ˈbækwɜːdz/Received-Pronunciation/ˈbækwɜɹdz/General-American
  1. Synonym of backward; see usage notes there.

Where this word comes from

From backward + -s. See also -s (“used in the formation of certain adverbs: backwards, downwards, inwards, etc.”).

adv/ˈbækwɜːdz/Received-Pronunciation/ˈbækwɜɹdz/General-American
  1. Synonym of backward; see usage notes there.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English bakwardis, bakwardis, a variant of Middle English bakwarde, bakward (“backward”). Equivalent to backward + -s. Compare Saterland Frisian bäkove (“backwards”).

verb/ˈbækwɜːdz/Received-Pronunciation/ˈbækwɜɹdz/General-American
  1. third-person singular simple present indicative of backward

    form-of · indicative · present · singular · third-person
Where this word comes from

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

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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.