Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adverb In, to, or toward the rear.
- adverb In a place or condition that has been passed or left.
- adverb In arrears; late.
- adverb Below the standard level; in or into an inferior position.
- adverb Slow.
- adverb Archaic Yet to come or in reserve.
- preposition At the back of or in the rear of.
- preposition On the farther side or other side of; beyond.
- preposition In a place or time that has been passed or left by.
- preposition Later than.
- preposition Used to indicate deficiency in performance.
- preposition Hidden or concealed by.
- preposition In the background of; underlying.
- preposition In a position or attitude of support.
- preposition In pursuit of.
- noun Informal The buttocks.
from The Century Dictionary.
- At the back of some person or thing; in the rear: opposed to before.
- Toward the back part; backward: as, to look behind.
- Out of sight; not produced or exhibited to view; in abeyance or reserve.
- Remaining after some occurrence, action, or operation: as, he departed and left us behind.
- Past in the progress of time.
- In arrear; behindhand: as, he is behind in his rent.
- At the back or in the rear of, as regards either the actual or the assumed front: the opposite of
before : as, the valet stood behind his master; crouching behind a tree. - Figuratively, in a position or at a point not so far advanced as; in the rear of, as regards progress, knowledge, development, etc.; not on an equality with: as, behind the age; he is behind the others in mathematics.
- In existence or remaining after the removal or disappearance of: as, he left a large family behind him.
- Synonyms Behind, After. Behind relates primarily to position; after, to time. When after notes position, it is less close or exact than behind, and it means position in motion. To say that men stood one after another in a line was once correct (see
Chaucer , knight's Tale, 1. 901, “kneeled … each after other”), but is not so now. They may come one after another, that is, somewhat irregularly and apart; they came one behind another, that is, close together, one covering another. The distinction is similar to that between beneath and below.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- preposition On the side opposite the front or nearest part; on the back side of; at the back of; on the other side of.
- preposition Left after the departure of, whether this be by removing to a distance or by death.
- preposition Left a distance by, in progress of improvement Hence: Inferior to in dignity, rank, knowledge, or excellence, or in any achievement.
- adverb At the back part; in the rear.
- adverb Toward the back part or rear; backward.
- adverb Not yet brought forward, produced, or exhibited to view; out of sight; remaining.
- adverb Backward in time or order of succession; past.
- adverb After the departure of another.
- noun Low The backside; the rump.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- preposition at the
back of - preposition to the
back of - preposition
after ,time - ormotion -wise - preposition responsible for
- preposition in
support of - adverb At the back part; in the rear.
- adverb Toward the back part or rear; backward; as, to look behind.
- adverb Not yet brought forward, produced, or exhibited to view; out of sight; remaining.
- adverb Backward in time or order of succession; past.
- adverb After the departure of another; as, to stay behind.
- adverb
Behind the scenes in a theatre;backstage . - noun the
rear , back-end - noun
bottom , downside
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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These nurses were allowed to go to South Africa on the understanding that they would work behind the lines, but, as guerrilla warfare developed, women in nursing capacities found themselves unable to remain behind the lines.
1876, May 1 2001
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"He got it close, and from behind -- _from behind_ do you hear?"
Overland Red A Romance of the Moonstone Cañon Trail Henry Herbert Knibbs 1909
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Why, you're worth [_Crossing behind table, stands behind_ LAURA.] that and a whole lot more.
The Easiest Way Representative Plays by American Dramatists: 1856-1911 Eugene Walter 1907
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At last they had bribed a man to light a fire in the hills behind the town, and so on the fourth night they got somewhere near it, but they could not make out the ships on account of the _dark land behind_ them.
Sketches From My Life By The Late Admiral Hobart Pasha Augustus Charles Hobart-Hampden 1854
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a man behind them -- _behind_ them, mind you -- came on their heels and plugged every son of them before they were more than inside my door!
The La Chance Mine Mystery Susan Morrow Jones
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"She jumped out grinning from behind trees, from behind signs, from behind cars.
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"She jumped out grinning from behind trees, from behind signs, from behind cars.
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"She jumped out grinning from behind trees, from behind signs, from behind cars.
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After a months-long auction, Vivendi 's Universal Music Group has emerged as the most likely buyer for EMI's recorded-music unit, the label behind the Beatles and Katy Perry.
EMI's Music Won't Stop With Universal John Jannarone 2011
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A gay men's choir which performs hits by Neil Young and Radiohead has landed a lucrative record deal with the label behind Lady GaGa.
Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph 2011
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