the rear surface of the human body from the shoulders to the hips

he lay on his back

Forbes slapped me on the back

back pain

the side or part of something that is away from the spectator or from the direction in which it moves or faces; the rear

at the back of the hotel is a secluded garden

a rubber dinghy with an engine at the back

a player in a team game who plays in a defensive position behind the forwards

their backs showed some impressive running and passing

the grounds of Cambridge colleges which back on to the River Cam

in the opposite direction from the one that one is facing or travelling towards

he moved back a pace

she walked away without looking back

so as to return to an earlier or normal position or condition

she put the book back on the shelf

he drove to Glasgow and back in a day

things were back to normal

in or into the past

he made his fortune back in 1955

in return

they wrote back to me

give financial, material, or moral support to

he had a newspaper empire backing him

walk or drive backwards

I put the car in reverse and backed down the road

cover the back of (an article) in order to support, protect, or decorate it

a mirror backed with tortoiseshell

lie behind or at the back of

the promenade is backed by lots of cafes

of or at the back of something

the back garden

the back pocket of his jeans

from or relating to the past

she was owed back pay

directed towards the rear or in a reversed course

a back header

(of a sound) articulated at the back of the mouth

a long back vowel, as in 'dance' or 'bath'