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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

backroom en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /ˈbækˌɹʊm/ (UK)
  • /ˈbækˌɹum/ (US)
  • /ˈbækˌɹuːm/ (UK)
  • (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg-der.? Proto-Germanic *baką Proto-West Germanic *bak Old English bæc Middle English bak English back Proto-Indo-European *Hrew-? Proto-Indo-European *(H)rewH-der. Proto-Germanic *rūmą Proto-West Germanic *rūm Old English rūm Middle English roum English room English backroom Compound of back + room

Meanings

  1. (attributive, figuratively, often) A room near the rear of a premises. ▸ Especially, one that is only accessible to a privileged few and can be used as an inconspicuous meeting place, where secrecy, anonymity, and even crooked dealings may occur.
    • backroom deals
    • It is known that means of using this end of the former NLR and Broad Street station to take an overspill of traffic from Liverpool Street have been under backroom study for some time. 1964 July, “News and Comment: The Broad Street-Richmond line”, in Modern Railways, page 17:
    • backroom bargaining
    • The vote for a new prime minister will involve plenty of backroom bargaining, while Thailand struggles to revive its faltering economy. 2024 August 14, “Thai court dismisses PM for violating constitution”, in bbc.com:
    • Near-synonym: smoke-filled room (meeting place of crooked insiders)
  2. A room near the rear of a premises. ▸ A storeroom in the rear of the premises.
    • We had thought that they were out of the old model, but somebody checked in the backroom and found a case of them.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
back room alternative lexicographic
backrooms Number=Plur lexicographic

Antonyms

antechamber · anteroom · foreroom · front room

Deriveds

Backrooms

Hypernyms

room · place · place · room · storeroom

Hyponyms

back of house · back office

Meronyms

back door · backdoor

Relateds

backroom boy · backroom staff

Synonyms

smoke-filled room[insider]]s>

Translations (12)

pl zaplecze (a room near the rear of a premises) · ca darrere (a room near the rear of a premises) · tr arka oda (a room near the rear of a premises) · de Hinterzimmer (a room near the rear of a premises) · fi takahuone (a room near the rear of a premises) · es entresijos (figurative) · es entretelas (figurative) · es rebotica (a room near the rear of a premises) · it retrobottega (a room near the rear of a premises) · pt fundos (a room near the rear of a premises) · fr pièce à l'arrière (a room near the rear of a premises) · es apartado (a room near the rear of a premises)