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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Back \Back\, noun [F. bac: cf. Arm. bag, bak a bark, D. bak tray, bowl.]
1. A large shallow vat; a cistern, tub, or trough, used by brewers, distillers, dyers, picklers, gluemakers, and others, for mixing or cooling wort, holding water, hot glue, etc.
{Hop back}, {Jack back}, the cistern which receives the infusion of malt and hops from the copper.
{Wash back}, a vat in which distillers ferment the wort to form wash.
{Water back}, a cistern to hold a supply of water; esp. a small cistern at the back of a stove, or a group of pipes set in the fire box of a stove or furnace, through which water circulates and is heated.
2. A ferryboat. See {Bac}, 1.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Back \Back\ (b[a^]k), noun [AS. b[ae]c, bac; akin to Icel., Sw., & LG. bak, Dan. bag; cf. OHG. bahho ham, Skr. bhaj to turn, OSlav. b[=e]g[u^] flight. Cf. {Bacon}.]
1. In human beings, the hinder part of the body, extending from the neck to the end of the spine; in other animals, that part of the body which corresponds most nearly to such part of a human being; as, the back of a horse, fish, or lobster.
2. An extended upper part, as of a mountain or ridge.
[The mountains] their broad bare backs upheave Into the clouds. --Milton.
3. The outward or upper part of a thing, as opposed to the inner or lower part; as, the back of the hand, the back of the foot, the back of a hand rail.
Methought Love pitying me, when he saw this, Gave me your hands, the backs and palms to kiss. --Donne.
4. The part opposed to the front; the hinder or rear part of a thing; as, the back of a book; the back of an army; the back of a chimney.
5. The part opposite to, or most remote from, that which fronts the speaker or actor; or the part out of sight, or not generally seen; as, the back of an island, of a hill, or of a village.
6. The part of a cutting tool on the opposite side from its edge; as, the back of a knife, or of a saw.
7. A support or resource in reserve.
This project Should have a back or second, that might hold, If this should blast in proof. --Shak.
8. (Naut.) The keel and keelson of a ship.
9. (Mining) The upper part of a lode, or the roof of a horizontal underground passage.
10. A garment for the back; hence, clothing. [Obs.]
A bak to walken inne by daylight. --Chaucer.
{Behind one's back}, when one is absent; without one's knowledge; as, to ridicule a person behind his back.
{Full back}, {Half back}, {Quarter back} (Football), players stationed behind those in the front line.
{To be on one's back} or {To lie on one's back}, to be helpless.
{To put one's back up} or {to get one's back up}, to assume an attitude of obstinate resistance (from the action of a cat when attacked). [Colloq.]
{To see the back of}, to get rid of.
{To turn the back}, to go away; to flee.
{To turn the back on one}, to forsake or neglect him.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Back \Back\, adjective
1. Being at the back or in the rear; distant; remote; as, the back door; back settlements.
2. Being in arrear; overdue; as, back rent.
3. Moving or operating backward; as, back action.
{Back blocks}, Australian pastoral country which is remote from the seacoast or from a river. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
{Back charges}, charges brought forward after an account has been made up.
{Back filling} (Arch.), the mass of materials used in filling up the space between two walls, or between the inner and outer faces of a wall, or upon the haunches of an arch or vault.
{Back pressure}. (Steam Engine) See under {Pressure}.
{Back rest}, a guide attached to the slide rest of a lathe, and placed in contact with the work, to steady it in turning.
{Back slang}, a kind of slang in which every word is written or pronounced backwards; as, nam for man.
{Back stairs}, stairs in the back part of a house; private stairs. Also used adjectively. See {Back stairs}, {Backstairs}, and {Backstair}, in the Vocabulary.
{Back step} (Mil.), the retrograde movement of a man or body of men, without changing front.
{Back stream}, a current running against the main current of a stream; an eddy.
{To take the back track}, to retrace one's steps; to retreat. [Colloq.]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Back \Back\ (b[a^]k), verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Backed} (b[a^]kt); p. pr. & vb. n. {Backing}.]
1. To get upon the back of; to mount.
I will back him [a horse] straight. --Shak.
2. To place or seat upon the back. [R.]
Great Jupiter, upon his eagle backed, Appeared to me. --Shak.
3. To drive or force backward; to cause to retreat or recede; as, to back oxen.
4. To make a back for; to furnish with a back; as, to back books.
5. To adjoin behind; to be at the back of.
A garden . . . with a vineyard backed. --Shak.
The chalk cliffs which back the beach. --Huxley.
6. To write upon the back of; as, to back a letter; to indorse; as, to back a note or legal document.
7. To support; to maintain; to second or strengthen by aid or influence; as, to back a friend. ''The Parliament would be backed by the people.'' --Macaulay.
Have still found it necessary to back and fortify their laws with rewards and punishments. --South.
The mate backed the captain manfully. --Blackw. Mag.
8. To bet on the success of; -- as, to back a race horse.
{To back an anchor} (Naut.), to lay down a small anchor ahead of a large one, the cable of the small one being fastened to the crown of the large one.
{To back the field}, in horse racing, to bet against a particular horse or horses, that some one of all the other horses, collectively designated ''the field'', will win.
{To back the oars}, to row backward with the oars.
{To back a rope}, to put on a preventer.
{To back the sails}, to arrange them so as to cause the ship to move astern.
{To back up}, to support; to sustain; as, to back up one's friends.
{To back a warrant} (Law), is for a justice of the peace, in the county where the warrant is to be executed, to sign or indorse a warrant, issued in another county, to apprehend an offender.
{To back water} (Naut.), to reverse the action of the oars, paddles, or propeller, so as to force the boat or ship backward.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Back \Back\, verb (used without an object)
1. To move or go backward; as, the horse refuses to back.
2. (Naut.) To change from one quarter to another by a course opposite to that of the sun; -- used of the wind.
3. (Sporting) To stand still behind another dog which has pointed; -- said of a dog. [Eng.]
{To back and fill}, to manage the sails of a ship so that the wind strikes them alternately in front and behind, in order to keep the ship in the middle of a river or channel while the current or tide carries the vessel against the wind. Hence: (Fig.) To take opposite positions alternately; to assert and deny. [Colloq.]
{To back out}, {To back down}, to retreat or withdraw from a promise, engagement, or contest; to recede. [Colloq.]
Cleon at first . . . was willing to go; but, finding that he [Nicias] was in earnest, he tried to back out. --Jowett (Thucyd. )
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Back \Back\, adverb [Shortened from aback.]
1. In, to, or toward, the rear; as, to stand back; to step back.
2. To the place from which one came; to the place or person from which something is taken or derived; as, to go back for something left behind; to go back to one's native place; to put a book back after reading it.
3. To a former state, condition, or station; as, to go back to private life; to go back to barbarism.
4. (Of time) In times past; ago. ''Sixty or seventy years back.'' --Gladstone.
5. Away from contact; by reverse movement.
The angel of the Lord . . . came, and rolled back the stone from the door. --Matt. xxviii. 2.
6. In concealment or reserve; in one's own possession; as, to keep back the truth; to keep back part of the money due to another.
7. In a state of restraint or hindrance.
The Lord hath kept thee back from honor. --Numb. xxiv. 11.
8. In return, repayment, or requital.
What have I to give you back? --Shak.
9. In withdrawal from a statement, promise, or undertaking; as, he took back the offensive words.
10. In arrear; as, to be back in one's rent. [Colloq.]
{Back and forth}, backwards and forwards; to and fro.
{To go back on}, to turn back from; to abandon; to betray; as, to go back on a friend; to go back on one's professions. [Colloq.]
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
back
adjective
1: related to or located at the back; "the back yard"; "the back entrance" [syn: {back(a)}] [ant: {front(a)}]
2: located at or near the back of an animal; "back (or hind) legs"; "the hinder part of a carcass" [syn: {back(a)}, {hind(a)}, {hinder(a)}]
3: of an earlier date; "back issues of the magazine" [syn: {back(a)}]
noun
1: the posterior part of a human (or animal) body from the neck to the end of the spine; "his back was nicely tanned" [syn: {dorsum}]
2: the side that goes last or is not normally seen; "he wrote the date on the back of the photograph" [syn: {rear}] [ant: {front}]
3: the part of something that is furthest from the normal viewer; "he stood at the back of the stage"; "it was hidden in the rear of the store" [syn: {rear}] [ant: {front}]
4: (football) a person who plays in the backfield
5: the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord; "the fall broke his back" [syn: {spinal column}, {vertebral column}, {spine}, {backbone}, {rachis}]
6: the front and back covering of a book; "the book had a leather binding" [syn: {binding}, {book binding}, {cover}]
7: the part of a garment that covers your back; "they pinned a 'kick me' sign on his back"
8: a support that you can lean against while sitting; "the back of the dental chair was adjustable" [syn: {backrest}]
9: the position of a player on a football team who is stationed behind the line of scrimmage
adverb
1: in or to or toward a former location; "she went back to her parents' house"
2: 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" [syn: {backward}, {backwards}, {rearward}, {rearwards}] [ant: {forward}]
3: in or to or toward an original condition; "he went back to sleep"
4: in or to or toward a past time; "set the clocks back an hour"; "never look back"; "lovers of the past looking fondly backward" [syn: {backward}] [ant: {ahead}, {ahead}]
5: in answer; "he wrote back three days later"; "had little to say in reply to the questions" [syn: {in reply}]
6: in repayment or retaliation; "we paid back everything we had borrowed"; "he hit me and I hit him back"; "I was kept in after school for talking back to the teacher"
verb
1: be behind; approve of; "He plumped for the Labor Party"; "I backed Kennedy in 1960" [syn: {endorse}, {indorse}, {plump for}, {plunk for}, {support}]
2: travel backward; "back into the driveway"; "The car backed up and hit the tree"
3: give support or one's approval to; "I'll second that motion"; "I can't back this plan"; "endorse a new project" [syn: {second}, {endorse}, {indorse}]
4: cause to travel backward; "back the car into the parking spot" [ant: {advance}]
5: support financial backing for; "back this enterprise"
6: be in back of; "My garage backs their yard" [ant: {front}]
7: place a bet on; "Which horse are you backing?"; "I'm betting on the new horse" [syn: {bet on}, {gage}, {stake}, {game}, {punt}]
8: shift to a counterclockwise direction; "the wind backed" [ant: {veer}]
9: establish as valid or genuine; "Can you back up your claims?" [syn: {back up}]
10: strengthen by providing with a back or backing
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
714 Moby Thesaurus words for "back": a priori, a rebours, a reculons, abandon, abet, accented, acknowledgments, advance, advocate, affirm, afford support, aft, after, aftermost, afterpart, afterpiece, again, against the grain, ago, aid, alpenstock, alveolar, alveolar ridge, alveolus, angel, ante, ante up, anticlockwise, apex, apical, apico-alveolar, apico-dental, arear, arena, arm, around, arrested, articulated, arytenoid cartilages, ascend, ascender, ascending, aside, ass-backwards, assimilated, assist, assure, astern, athletic supporter, attest, authenticate, away, axial, back away, back door, back matter, back of beyond, back off, back seat, back side, back up, back when, back-country, back-flowing, backbone, backdrop, background, backing, backpedal, backside, backstop, backtrack, backtrail, backward, backwards, backwater, backwood, backwoods, backwoodsy, bandeau, bankroll, bankrupt, barytone, bastard title, bastard type, be sponsor for, bear, bear out, bear up, beard, bearer, behind, behindhand, belated, belly, bestraddle, bestride, bet, bet on, bevel, bibliography, bilabial, black letter, blade, blocked, board, body, bolster, bolster up, bond, boost, bra, brace, bracer, bracket, brassiere, break, breech, broad, budge, buoy up, buttress, by, cacuminal, call, cane, cap, capital, capitalize, carrier, carry, case, cast off, catch line, catchword, central, cerebral, certify, cervix, champion, change, change place, chasing, checked, circle, circumstantiate, climb, climb on, close, colophon, come after, come last, commend, confirm, consonant, consonantal, contents, contents page, continuant, copyright page, corroborate, corset, counter, counterclockwise, countermarch, countersecure, cover, cradle, crook, crush, crutch, cry up, cushion, deceitfully, dedication, defeat, delayed, delayed-action, dental, deny, descend, descender, descending, destroy, detained, disavow, disown, disregard, dissimilated, distance, distant, document, dorsal, dorsal region, dorsum, down-trending, downward, drifting, due, early, ebb, elect, em, en, encourage, endleaf, endorse, endpaper, endsheet, ensure, errata, ex post facto, extremity, face, fade, fail, fall astern, fall back, fall behind, fat-faced type, feet, field, finance, flat, flow, flowing, fluent, flying, flyleaf, folio, follow, following, font, for a consideration, fore edge, foreword, forsake, fortify, foundation garment, fro, front, front matter, frontier, fulcrum, fund, furtively, gamble, get behind, get in, get in behind, get on, get over, girdle, give support, glide, glossal, glottal, go, go aboard, go around, go astern, go back, go back on, go backwards, go into reverse, go on board, go round, go sideways, going, gone by, groove, ground, grubstake, guarantee, guaranty, guttural, guy, guywire, gyrate, gyrational, gyratory, half-title page, hard, hard palate, hard pressed, hazard, head, heavy, heel, held up, help, helpless, high, hind, hind end, hind part, hinder, hindermost, hindhand, hindhead, hindmost, hindward, hindwards, hinterland, hold, hold up, hop in, hung up, hype, ignore, imprint, in a bind, in abeyance, in arrear, in arrears, in back of, in compensation, in consideration, in reserve, in return, in reverse, in times past, index, inscription, insidiously, insure, into the past, intonated, introduction, invest in, isolated, italic, jammed, jock, jockstrap, jump in, keep afloat, keep up, labial, labiodental, labiovelar, lag behind, larynx, late, lateral, latish, lax, lay, lay a wager, lay down, leaf, lend support, letter, ligature, light, lingual, lips, liquid, locale, logotype, loin, low, lower case, mainstay, maintain, maintainer, majuscule, make a bet, make sternway, makeup, mast, master, mature, meet a bet, mid, minuscule, mise-en-scene, monophthongal, moratory, mount, mounting, move, move over, muted, narrow, nasal, nasal cavity, nasalized, neck, never on time, nick, nominate, obstructed, occiput, occlusive, open, oral cavity, outback, outlandish, outlying, outstanding, overcome, overdue, owed, owing, oxytone, page, palatal, palatalized, palate, parlay, pass, passing, past due, patronize, pay for, payable, pharyngeal, pharyngeal cavity, pharyngealized, pharynx, phonemic, phonetic, phonic, pi, pica, pile in, pillow, pitch, pitched, play against, plug, plunge, plunging, point, posterior, postern, posttonic, preface, preliminaries, primitive, print, privately, probate, progress, progressive, promote, prop, prove, provide for, puff, punt, pursuing, rachis, ratify, raw, rear, rear end, rearmost, rearward, rearwards, receivable, recommend, recto, redeemable, refinance, reflex, reflowing, refluent, regress, regressive, reinforce, reinforcement, reinforcer, reject, reminiscently, remote, renege, repudiate, rest, resting place, retarded, retract, retrad, retral, retreat, retroactive, retroactively, retrocede, retroflex, retrograde, retrogress, retrogressive, retrospective, retrospectively, reverse, reversed, reverso, revert, ridge, rigging, rigidify, rise, rising, roman, rotary, rotate, rotational, rotatory, rough, round, round about, rounded, ruin, run, run interference for, running, running title, rushing, sans serif, scene, screw up, script, second, secretly, secure, see, semivowel, service, set up, setting, shank, shift, shore, shore up, shoulder, shroud, side with, sideward, sign, sign for, signature, since, sink, sinking, slow, slyly, small cap, small capital, sneakily, soar, soaring, soft, soft palate, sonant, speak highly of, speak warmly of, speak well of, speech organ, spin, spinal column, spine, sponsor, sprit, staff, stage, stage set, stage setting, stake, stamp, stand back of, stand behind, stand by, stand pat, stand up for, standing rigging, stave, stay, stem, stern, stick, stick by, stick up for, stiffen, stiffener, stir, stopped, stream, streaming, strengthen, strengthener, stressed, strong, subscribe to, subside, subsidize, substantiate, subtitle, subvene, subvention, support, supporter, surd, surreptitiously, sustain, sustainer, syllabic, sylvan, syrinx, table of contents, tail, tail end, tailpiece, take sides with, tardy, teeth, teeth ridge, tense, text, theater, thick, throaty, tighten, tip, title, title page, to the rear, tonal, tongue, tonic, tout, trail, trail behind, travel, treacherously, trice up, trim size, turned around, twangy, type, type body, type class, type lice, type page, typecase, typeface, typefounders, typefoundry, unaccented, uncivilized, uncultivated, underbrace, undergird, underlie, underpin, underset, undersign, underwrite, undeveloped, uninhabited, unoccupied, unpaid, unpopulated, unpunctual, unready, unrounded, unsettled, unstressed, untimely, up-country, up-trending, upbear, uphold, upholder, upkeep, upper case, upward, validate, vanquish, velar, velum, verify, verso, vertebrae, vertebral column, virgin, vocal chink, vocal cords, vocal folds, vocal processes, vocalic, vocoid, voice box, voiced, voiceless, vote, vowel, vowellike, wager, walking stick, wane, warrant, waste, weak, whirl, widdershins, wide, wild, wilderness, withdraw from, without hope, woodland, wrong-way, wrong-way around
From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:
BACK, noun That part of your friend which it is your privilege to contemplate in your adversity.
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