directed or facing toward the back or rear; "a backward view"
Used in a Sentence
backward
How to use backward in a sentence. Example sentences and definitions for backward.
Editorial note
As a Brit who has spent some time in the US, the US banking system is bafflingly backward...* No chip and pin. You still sign credit card slips.
Examples11
Definitions7
Parts of speech2
Quick take
directed or facing toward the back or rear; "a backward view"
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of backward gathered in one view.
(used of temperament or behavior) marked by a retiring nature; "a backward lover"
retarded in intellectual development
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for backward.
adjective
directed or facing toward the back or rear; "a backward view"
adjective
(used of temperament or behavior) marked by a retiring nature; "a backward lover"
adjective
retarded in intellectual development
See also: half-witted, slow-witted, feebleminded
adjective
having made less than normal progress; "an economically backward country"
adverb
at or to or toward the back or rear; "he moved back"; "tripped when he stepped backward"; "she looked rearward out the window of the car"
adverb
in a manner or order or direction the reverse of normal; "it's easy to get the `i' and the `e' backward in words like `seize' and `siege'"; "the child put her jersey on backward"
See also: backwards
adverb
in or to or toward a past time; "set the clocks back an hour"; "never look back"; "lovers of the past looking fondly backward"
See also: back
Example sentences
As a Brit who has spent some time in the US, the US banking system is bafflingly backward...* No chip and pin. You still sign credit card slips.
In certain ways, this "post-PC" era that Apple's brought us into with the iPad seems like a step backward.
The Muslims suffer more, because of their own backward cultural mind set than anything else.
If Apple moves to a new screen size, I think it will have to be larger for backward compatibility with old apps.
And that's in Russia, that authoritarian backward country.
Neovim maintains backward compatibility where it makes sense to do so. Neovim is NOT a rewrite, it is a thoughtful refactoring that aims to achieve one of Vim's _original_ goals: first class support for embedding.
I understand, you're all busy people, and I'm not paying so I shouldn't complain, and who wants to work on backward compatible cruft when you could be building the next 'awesome bar'.
But Lua the language is a bit more of a moving target; to preserve cleanliness and orthogonality they sometimes break the language in non-backward-compatible ways.
Google didn't have to spend time and money on things like getting resistant cities to allow them in or deal with onerous requirements - Google's proposition was "we'll pick whoever bends over backward the most for us".
I am not going to shrink from saying that people in backward, poorly governed countries that could never have invented the Internet have no right to kill and destroy just because someone in a free country laughs or scorns at their delusions.
If you put two of them in one aircraft, and fired both guns forward while opening up the throttle, the guns would win and you’d accelerate backward.> To put it another way: If I mounted a GAU-8 on my car, put the car in neutral, and started firing backward from a standstill, I would be breaking the interstate speed limit in less than three seconds.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use backward in a sentence?
As a Brit who has spent some time in the US, the US banking system is bafflingly backward...* No chip and pin. You still sign credit card slips.
What does backward mean?
directed or facing toward the back or rear; "a backward view"
What part of speech is backward?
backward is commonly used as adjective, adverb.