overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

behind.

At or to the back or far side of.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

prep/bɪˈhaɪnd/Received-Pronunciation/bəˈhaɪnd/Received-Pronunciation/beˈhəɪn//beˈhoɪn/

  1. At or to the back or far side of.

    The children were hiding behind the wall.
    Behind the garage needs clearing asap.

  2. At or to the back or far side of. Concealed by (something serving as a facade or disguise).

    figuratively
    Behind the smile was a cruel intention.

  3. At or to the back or far side of. In the past, from the viewpoint of.

    figuratively
    All my problems are behind me.

  4. Less forward or advanced than; after. After in physical progress or distance.

  5. Less forward or advanced than; after. After in developmental progress, score, grade, etc.; inferior to.

    I'm ranked sixth in the French class, behind five other pupils.
    In the cricket match, England are 120 runs behind India.

  6. Less forward or advanced than; after. After in time.

  7. Responsible for, being the creator or controller of.

    Who is behind these terrorist attacks?
    Mr Jones was the man behind the redevelopment plan.

  8. Underlying, being the reason for or explanation of.

    What is behind this unexpected decision?

  9. In support of.

    The republicans are fully behind their candidate.

  10. Following, subsequent to; as a result or consequence of; because of.

    US · informal
Where this word comes from

From Middle English behinde, behinden, from Old English behindan (“on the back side of, behind”), from Proto-West Germanic *bihindan, *bihindini (“on the back side of, in the rear of, behind”), from Proto-West Germanic *bi- + *hindō (“the hind side, back part”), equivalent to be- + hind. Compare Old Saxon bihindan (“behind”, adverb), Middle High German behinter (“behind; back”).

adv/bɪˈhaɪnd/Received-Pronunciation/bəˈhaɪnd/Received-Pronunciation/beˈhəɪn//beˈhoɪn/

  1. At or in the rear or back part of something.

    The water flows out through the pipe, and the sediment collects behind.

  2. In a rearward direction.

    We ran and ran, without once looking behind.

  3. So as to come after someone or something in position, distance, advancement, ranking, time, etc.

    The slower runners were left a long way behind.
    In the cricket match, England finished a long way behind.

  4. So as to be still in place after someone or something has departed or ceased to exist.

    I couldn't be bothered to carry the ironing board, so I left it behind.
    He stayed behind after the war.

  5. Backward in time or order of succession; past.

  6. Behind the scenes in a theatre; backstage.

  7. Not yet brought forward, produced, or exhibited to view; out of sight; remaining.

    archaic
Where this word comes from

From Middle English behinde, behinden, from Old English behindan (“on the back side of, behind”), from Proto-West Germanic *bihindan, *bihindini (“on the back side of, in the rear of, behind”), from Proto-West Germanic *bi- + *hindō (“the hind side, back part”), equivalent to be- + hind. Compare Old Saxon bihindan (“behind”, adverb), Middle High German behinter (“behind; back”).

adj

  1. Not advanced to the required or expected degree; overdue or in arrears.

    I'm very behind in my schedule.
    My employer is two paychecks behind on paying my salary.

  2. Slow.

    My watch is behind by four minutes.
Where this word comes from

From Middle English behinde, behinden, from Old English behindan (“on the back side of, behind”), from Proto-West Germanic *bihindan, *bihindini (“on the back side of, in the rear of, behind”), from Proto-West Germanic *bi- + *hindō (“the hind side, back part”), equivalent to be- + hind. Compare Old Saxon bihindan (“behind”, adverb), Middle High German behinter (“behind; back”).

noun/bɪˈhaɪnd/Received-Pronunciation/bəˈhaɪnd/Received-Pronunciation/beˈhəɪn//beˈhoɪn/

  1. The rear, back-end.

    This part fits under the behind of the vehicle.
    She sneaked up on me from behind.

  2. The buttocks, bottom, butt.

    informal
    I was stung on the behind by a wasp.

  3. Synonym of ass (“synecdochic: a person or their body”).

    euphemistic
    Get your lazy behind out of bed!

  4. A one-point score.

  5. The catcher.

    slang

  6. In the Eton College field game, any of a group of players consisting of two "shorts" (who try to kick the ball over the bully) and a "long" (who defends the goal).

Where this word comes from

From Middle English behinde, behinden, from Old English behindan (“on the back side of, behind”), from Proto-West Germanic *bihindan, *bihindini (“on the back side of, in the rear of, behind”), from Proto-West Germanic *bi- + *hindō (“the hind side, back part”), equivalent to be- + hind. Compare Old Saxon bihindan (“behind”, adverb), Middle High German behinter (“behind; back”).

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

behind has 6 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

behind studiobehind workshello, behind

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

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.