backgrounder
1: a press conference or interview in which a government official explains to reporters the background of an action or policy; "the secretary gave us a backgrounder on public health issues"
backgrounding
1: the execution of low priority programs while higher priority programs are not using the processing system [syn: {background processing}]
backhand
1: (of racket strokes) made across the body with back of hand facing direction of stroke [syn: {backhand(a)}, {backhanded}] [ant: {forehand(a)}] 2: (of handwriting) having the letters slanting from le...
backhand shot
1: a return made with the back of the hand facing the direction of the stroke [syn: {backhand}, {backhand stroke}]
backhand stroke
1: a return made with the back of the hand facing the direction of the stroke [syn: {backhand}, {backhand shot}]
backhanded
1: (of racket strokes) made across the body with back of hand facing direction of stroke [syn: {backhand(a)}] [ant: {forehand(a)}] 2: roundabout or ambiguous; "attacks from tht source amounted to a ba...
backhoe
1: an excavator whose shovel bucket is attached to a hinged boom and is drawn backward to move earth
backing
1: the act of providing approval and support; "his vigorous backing of the conservatives got him in trouble with progressives" [syn: {backup}, {championship}, {patronage}] 2: something forming a back ...
backlash
1: a movement back from an impact [syn: {recoil}, {repercussion}, {rebound}] 2: an adverse reaction to some political or social occurrence; "there was a backlash of intolerance" v : have an unexpected...
backless
1: lacking a back; "a stool is a backless and armless seat" [ant: {backed}]
backlog
1: an accumulation of jobs not done or materials not processed that are yet to be dealt with (especially unfilled customer orders for products or services) 2: large log at the back of a hearth fire [s...
backmost
1: located farthest to the rear [syn: {hindermost}, {hindmost}, {rearmost}]
backpack
1: a bag carried by a strap on your back or shoulder [syn: {back pack}, {knapsack}, {packsack}, {rucksack}, {haversack}] v : hike with a backpack; "Every summer they are backpacking in the Rockies" [s...
backpacker
1: a hiker who wears a backpack [syn: {packer}]
backpacking
1: carrying something in a pack on the back; "the backpacking of oxygen is essential for astronauts" [syn: {packing}]
backpedal
1: pedal backwards on a bicycle 2: step backwards, in boxing 3: modify one' opinion, make it less strong
backplate
1: plate armor protecting the back; worn as part of a cuirass
backrest
1: a support that you can lean against while sitting; "the back of the dental chair was adjustable" [syn: {back}]
backroom
1: the meeting place of a group of leaders who make their decisions via private negotiations
backroom boy
1: an expert adviser involved in making important decisions but usually lacking official status [syn: {brain truster}]
backsaw
1: a handsaw stiffened by metal along upper edge
backscatter
1: scatter (radiation) by the atoms of the medium through which it passes
backscratcher
1: someone who is willing to trade favors or services for mutual advantage 2: a long-handled scratcher for scratching your back
backseat
1: a secondary or inferior position or status; "tennis has had to take a backseat while his work is so demanding" 2: a seat at the rear (especially the backseat of an automobile)
backsheesh
1: a relatively small amount of money given for services rendered (as by a waiter) [syn: {gratuity}, {tip}, {pourboire}, {baksheesh}, {bakshish}, {bakshis}]
backside
1: the side of an object that is opposite its front; "his room was toward the rear of the hotel" [syn: {rear}, {back end}] [ant: {front}] 2: the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on; "he dese...
backslap
1: display excessive cordiality (towards); "he is always backslapping his colleagues at staff meetings"
backslapper
1: someone who demonstrates enthusiastic or excessive cordiality
backslide
1: drop to a lower level, as in one's morals or standards [syn: {lapse}] [also: {backslidden}, {backslid}]
backslider
1: someone who lapses into previous undesirable patterns of behavior [syn: {recidivist}, {reversionist}]
backsliding
1: a failure to maintain a higher state [syn: {lapse}, {lapsing}, {relapse}, {relapsing}, {reversion}, {reverting}]
backspace
1: hit the backspace key on a computer or typewriter keyboard; "To erase, you must backspace"
backspace key
1: the typewriter key used for back spacing [syn: {backspacer}]
backspacer
1: the typewriter key used for back spacing [syn: {backspace key}]
backspin
1: spin (usually of a moving ball) that retards or reverses the forward motion
backstage
1: concealed from the public n : a stage area out of sight of the audience [syn: {wing}, {offstage}] adv 1: out of view of the public; behind the scenes; "Working backstage to gain political support f...
backstair
1: secret and sly or sordid; "backstairs gossip"; "his low backstairs cunning"- A.L.Guerard; "backstairs intimacies"; "furtive behavior" [syn: {backstairs}, {furtive}]
backstairs
1: secret and sly or sordid; "backstairs gossip"; "his low backstairs cunning"- A.L.Guerard; "backstairs intimacies"; "furtive behavior" [syn: {backstair}, {furtive}] n : a second staircase at the rea...
backstay
1: a stay that supports the back of something
backstitch
1: overlapping stitch made by starting next stitch at middle of preceding one v : do backstitches
backstop
1: (baseball) a fence or screen (as behind home plate) v : act as a backstop
backstroke
1: a swimming stroke that resembles the crawl except the swimmer lies on his or her back v : swim on one's back
backswimmer
1: predaceous aquatic insect that swims on its back and may inflict painful bites [syn: {Notonecta undulata}]
backsword
1: a stick used instead of a sword for fencing [syn: {singlestick}, {fencing stick}] 2: a sword with only one cutting edge
backtalk
1: an impudent or insolent rejoinder; "don't give me any of your sass" [syn: {sass}, {sassing}, {back talk}, {lip}, {mouth}]
backtrack
1: retrace one's course; "The hikers got into a storm and had to turn back" [syn: {turn back}, {double back}]
backup
1: an accumulation caused by clogging or a stoppage; "a traffic backup on the main street"; "he discovered a backup in the toilet" 2: someone who takes the place of another (as when things get dangero...
backup file
1: (computer science) a computer file dedicated to storing and updating computer backups
backup man
1: someone who takes the place of another (as when things get dangerous or difficult); "the star had a stand-in for dangerous scenes"; "we need extra employees for summer fill-ins" [syn: {stand-in}, {...
backward
1: directed or facing toward the back or rear; "a backward view" [ant: {forward}] 2: (used of temperament or behavior) marked by a retiring nature; "a backward lover" [ant: {forward}] 3: retarded in i...
backward and forward
1: moving from one place to another and back again; "he traveled back and forth between Los Angeles and New York" [syn: {back and forth}, {to and fro}]
backwardness
1: lack of normal development of intellectual capacities [syn: {retardation}, {mental retardation}, {slowness}, {subnormality}]
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backwards
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: {f...
backwash
1: the flow of air that is driven backwards by an aircraft propeller [syn: {slipstream}, {airstream}, {race}, {wash}] 2: the consequences of an event (especially a catastrophic event); "the aftermath ...
backwater
1: a body of water that was created by a flood or tide or by being held or forced back by a dam; "the bayous and backwaters are breeding grounds for mosquitos" 2: any backward region that is isolated ...
backwoods
1: inaccessible and sparsely populated [syn: {backwoods(a)}, {outback(a)}, {remote}] n : a remote and undeveloped area [syn: {back country}, {boondocks}, {hinterland}]
backwoodsman
1: a man who lives on the frontier [syn: {frontiersman}, {mountain man}]
backyard
1: the grounds in back of a house
bacon
1: back and sides of a hog salted and dried or smoked; usually sliced thin and fried 2: English scientist and Franciscan monk who stressed the importance of experimentation; first showed that air is r...
bacon and eggs
1: European forage plant having claw-shaped pods introduced in America [syn: {bird's foot trefoil}, {bird's foot clover}, {babies' slippers}, {Lotus corniculatus}] 2: eggs (fried or scrambled) served ...
bacteremia
1: transient presence of bacteria (or other microorganisms) in the blood [syn: {bacteriemia}, {bacteriaemia}]
bacteremic
1: of or relating to or having bacteremia
bacteria
1: (microbiology) single-celled or noncellular spherical or spiral or rod-shaped organisms lacking chlorophyll that reproduce by fission; important as pathogens and for biochemical properties; taxonom...
bacteria bed
1: layer of sand or gravel used to expose sewage effluent to air and the action of microorganisms
bacteriacide
1: any chemical agent that destroys bacteria [syn: {bactericide}]
bacteriaemia
1: transient presence of bacteria (or other microorganisms) in the blood [syn: {bacteremia}, {bacteriemia}]
bacterial
1: relating to or caused by bacteria; "bacterial infection"
bacterial plaque
1: a film of mucus and bacteria deposited on the teeth that encourages the development of dental caries [syn: {dental plaque}]
bacterial toxin
1: any endotoxin or exotoxin formed in or elaborated by bacterial cells
bactericidal
1: preventing infection by inhibiting the growth or action of microorganisms [syn: {disinfectant}, {germicidal}]
bactericide
1: any chemical agent that destroys bacteria [syn: {bacteriacide}] 2: any drug that destroys bacteria or inhibits their growth [syn: {antibacterial}, {antibacterial drug}]
bacteriemia
1: transient presence of bacteria (or other microorganisms) in the blood [syn: {bacteremia}, {bacteriaemia}]
bacteriochlorophyll
1: a substance in photosensitive bacteria that is related to but different from chlorophyll of higher plants
bacterioid
1: resembling bacteria [syn: {bacteroidal}, {bacteroid}, {bacterioidal}]
bacterioidal
1: resembling bacteria [syn: {bacteroidal}, {bacteroid}, {bacterioid}]
bacteriologic
1: of or relating to bacteriology [syn: {bacteriological}]
bacteriology
1: the branch of medical science that studies bacteria in relation to disease
bacteriophage
1: a virus that is parasitic in bacteria; it uses the bacterium's machinery and energy to produce more phage until the bacterium is destroyed and phage is released to invade surrounding bacteria [syn:...
bacteriophagic
1: of or relating to bacteriophages [syn: {bacteriophagous}]
bacteriophagous
1: of or relating to bacteriophages [syn: {bacteriophagic}]
bacteriostasis
1: inhibition of the growth of bacteria [also: {bacteriostases} (pl)]
bacteriostat
1: a chemical or biological material that inhibits bacterial growth
bacterise
1: subject to the action of bacteria [syn: {bacterize}]
bacterium
1: (microbiology) single-celled or noncellular spherical or spiral or rod-shaped organisms lacking chlorophyll that reproduce by fission; important as pathogens and for biochemical properties; taxonom...
bacterize
1: subject to the action of bacteria [syn: {bacterise}]
bacteroid
1: resembling bacteria [syn: {bacteroidal}, {bacterioidal}, {bacterioid}] n : a rodlike bacterium (especially any of the rod-shaped or branched bacteria in the root nodules of nitrogen-fixing plants)
Bacteroidaceae
1: family of bacteria living usually in the alimentary canal or on mucous surfaces of warm-blooded animals; sometimes associated with acute infective processes [syn: {family Bacteroidaceae}]
bacteroidal
1: resembling bacteria [syn: {bacteroid}, {bacterioidal}, {bacterioid}]
Bacteroides
1: type genus of Bacteroidaceae; genus of gram-negative rodlike anaerobic bacteria producing no endospores and no pigment and living in the gut of man and animals [syn: {genus Bacteroides}]
Bactrian camel
1: two-humped camel of the cold deserts of central Asia [syn: {Camelus bactrianus}]
baculiform
1: formed like a bacillus [syn: {baccilar}, {bacillary}, {bacilliform}, {rod-shaped}]
bad
1: having undesirable or negative qualities; "a bad report card"; "his sloppy appearance made a bad impression"; "a bad little boy"; "clothes in bad shape"; "a bad cut"; "bad luck"; "the news was very...
bad block
1: (computer science) a block (usually one sector) that cannot reliably hold data
bad blood
1: a feeling of ill will arousing active hostility [syn: {animosity}, {animus}]
bad check
1: a check that is dishonored on presentation because of insufficient funds; "issuing a bad check is a form of larceny" [syn: {bad cheque}]
bad cheque
1: a check that is dishonored on presentation because of insufficient funds; "issuing a bad check is a form of larceny" [syn: {bad check}]
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