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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Backward \Back"ward\, Backwards \Back"wards\, adverb [Back, adverb + -ward.]
1. With the back in advance or foremost; as, to ride backward.
2. Toward the back; toward the rear; as, to throw the arms backward.
3. On the back, or with the back downward.
Thou wilt fall backward. --Shak.
4. Toward, or in, past time or events; ago.
Some reigns backward. --Locke.
5. By way of reflection; reflexively. --Sir J. Davies.
6. From a better to a worse state, as from honor to shame, from religion to sin.
The work went backward. --Dryden.
7. In a contrary or reverse manner, way, or direction; contrarily; as, to read backwards.
We might have . . . beat them backward home. --Shak.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
backwards
adverb
1: 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: {back}, {backward}, {rearward}, {rearwards}] [ant: {forward}]
2: 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" [syn: {backward}]
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Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |