Dictionary

back up en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (General-American) audio
• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. (idiomatic, intransitive) To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so.
   • That beeping sound indicates that the truck is backing up.
   • We expressed our readiness, and in ten minutes were in the station wagon, rolling rapidly down the long drive, for it was then after nine.[…]As we reached the lodge we heard the whistle, and we backed up against one side of the platform as the train pulled up at the other. 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
2. (idiomatic, transitive) To move a vehicle backwards.
   • Back up the car a little, you're blocking the driveway.
3. (idiomatic, intransitive) To undo one's actions.
   • I couldn't see how to finish the project, so I backed up and tried it another way.
4. (idiomatic, intransitive) To reconsider one's thoughts.
   • This isn't working. Let's back up and think about it.
5. (idiomatic, transitive) To copy (data) so that it can be restored if the main copy is lost.
   • Back up your documents folder before applying the update.
6. (idiomatic, transitive) To provide support or the promise of support to.
   • Thank you for backing me up. I know it's not easy delivering bad news-especially to a friend-but sometimes it's the only way we can move forward and begin to heal. 2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Update on Jaal:
   • When he said I wasn't there, I told him I was, and my buddy backed me up.
   • Researching and corroborating facts to put in my script is one thing, but getting sources to back up the assertions of interviewed contributors can be quite another. 2020 May 6, Tim Dunn, “The Architecture The Railways Built”, in Rail, page 76:
   • "All the same, governor, what he says is right," put in the other, anxious to back up his friend now that the first step had been taken. 1934, Ernest Bramah, The Bravo of London:
   • It turns out, there’s research that backs up the usefulness of lowering our expectations. Participants in one study had to make decisions that either led to financial gains or losses, all while inside a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine. Researchers then duplicated this experiment as an app to crowdsource more data. 2024 May 14, Clay Drinko, “Lower Your Expectations”, in Psychology Today:
   • You should be careful. This guy is backed up by the local gang.
7. (idiomatic, intransitive) For the non-striker to take a few steps down the pitch, in preparation to taking a run, just as the bowler bowls the ball.
8. (idiomatic, intransitive) For a fielder to position himself behind the wicket (relative to a team-mate who is throwing the ball at the wicket) so as to stop the ball, and prevent overthrows.
9. (idiomatic, intransitive, of a blockage) To halt the flow or movement of something.
   • When I flushed the toilet, the plumbing backed up and burst.
10. (idiomatic, informal, intransitive) To fill up because of a backlog.
    • WAITRESS: Hurry up with those drinks, Lucy. We're backing up. (Grabs the drinks LUCY has poured.) What are you doing? These are regular. They all ordered large. 1995, "Oubliette" (episode of The X-Files TV series)
11. (obsolete) To run a printing press in reverse.
12. (idiomatic, intransitive) If a property backs up to another property, that means it abuts or shares a border with another property.
    • We bought this house specifically because it backs up to our son's school.

Forms

Coordinates

back off · stand back · back away

Deriveds

backupable

Relateds

back out · back off · back down · back into

Synonyms

reverse · back out · fall behind · plug up · back · support · abut · border

Translations (62)

es retroceder (To move a vehicle backwards) · ru дава́ть за́дний ход (To move a vehicle backwards) · fi varmuuskopioida (To copy as a security measure) · es respaldar (To copy as a security measure) · fi peruuttaa (To move a vehicle backwards) · fi pakittaa (To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so) · he גיבה (To provide support to) · ru дви́гаться наза́д (To move a vehicle backwards) · ka ამარქაფებს (To copy as a security measure) · tr yedeklemek (To copy as a security measure) · nrf batchi (To copy as a security measure) · fr faire une sauvegarde (To copy as a security measure) · es recular (To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so) · cy bacio i fyny (To copy as a security measure) · fi pakittaa (To move a vehicle backwards) · es cejar (To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so) · fi ottaa muutama askel taaksepäin (For the non-striker to take a few steps down the pitch) · ka სარეზერვო ასლს ქმნის (To copy as a security measure) · mi pūrua (To copy as a security measure) · vi lùi (To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so) · fi olla tukena (To provide support to) · ru дава́ть за́дний ход (To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so) · es retroceder (To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so) · ru сдава́ть наза́д (To move a vehicle backwards) · fr sauvegarder (To copy as a security measure) · nl achteruitrijden (To move a vehicle backwards) · fi tukea (To provide support to) · ka დაამარქაფებს (To copy as a security measure) · nl teruggaan (To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so) · cy bacio i fyny (To move a vehicle backwards) · es recejar (To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so) · he גיבה (To copy as a security measure) · vi lùi (To move a vehicle backwards) · pl cofać (To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so) · ru де́лать бэкап (To copy as a security measure) · be даваць заднюю хаду (To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so) · nl back-uppen (To copy as a security measure) · be задкаваць (To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so) · mi pūrua kōnae (To copy as a security measure) · ru забэкапить (To copy as a security measure) · he תגבר (To provide support to) · fi mennä hilan taakse (For a fielder to position himself behind the wicket) · es respaldar (To provide support to) · fi peruuttaa (To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so) · ru возвраща́ться (To move a vehicle backwards) · fr faire marche arrière (To move a vehicle backwards) · ru возвраща́ть (To move a vehicle backwards) · vi hỗ trợ (To provide support to) · vi sao lưu (To copy as a security measure) · ro da înapoi (To move a vehicle backwards) · es ciar (To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so) · es reblar (To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so) · eo rezervi (To copy as a security measure) · es copiar a la nube (To copy as a security measure) · fr reculer (To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so) · cy bacio i fyny (To provide support to) · he נָסוֹג (To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so) · fi vahvistaa (To provide support to) · fr reculer (To move a vehicle backwards) · ru де́лать резе́рвное копи́рование (To copy as a security measure) · cy bacio i fyny (To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so) · pl cofnąć (To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so)