behind
Pronunciation
    • IPA: /bɪˈhaɪnd/, /bəˈhaɪnd/
    • (GA) IPA: /ˈbiːˌhaɪnd/, /bɪˈhaɪnd/
    • (British) IPA: /bɪˈhaɪnd/, /bəˈhaɪnd/
Preposition
  1. At the back of; positioned with something else in front of.
    The car is behind the wall.
    • 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], OCLC 752825175 ↗:
      But then I had the [massive] flintlock by me for protection. ¶ […] The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window […], and a 'bead' could be drawn upon Molly, the dairymaid, kissing the fogger behind the hedge, little dreaming that the deadly tube was levelled at them.
  2. To the back of.
  3. After, time- or motion-wise.
  4. responsible for
    Who is behind these terrorist attacks?
  5. In support of.
    The republicans are fully behind their candidate.
  6. Left a distance by, in progress or improvement; inferior to.
    I'm ranked sixth in the French class, behind five other pupils.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), imprinted at London: By Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981 ↗, 2 Corinthians 11:5 ↗:
      For I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles.
  7. (non-standard, US, slang) As a result or consequence of
Synonyms
  • i at the back of: in back of, to the rear of.
Antonyms Translations Translations Translations Translations
  • Portuguese: por trás
Translations
  • French: derrière
  • Portuguese: apoiando
  • Russian: за
Adverb

behind (comparative behinder, superlative behindest)

  1. At the back part; in the rear.
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books, London: Printed [by Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […] [a]nd by Robert Boulter […] [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], OCLC 228722708 ↗; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: The Text Exactly Reproduced from the First Edition of 1667: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554 ↗:
      I shall not lag behind.
  2. Toward the back part or rear; backward.
    to look behind
  3. Overdue, in arrears.
    My employer is two paychecks behind on paying my salary.
    I'm two weeks behind in my schedule.
  4. Slow; of a watch or clock.
    My watch is four minutes behind.
  5. existing afterwards
    He left behind a legacy of death and sorrow.
    He stayed behind after the war.
    • 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act IV, scene i]:
      Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, / And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, / Leave not a rack behind.
  6. Backward in time or order of succession; past.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), imprinted at London: By Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981 ↗, Philippians 3:13 ↗:
      {...}} forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before
  7. Behind the scenes in a theatre; backstage.
  8. (archaic) Not yet brought forward, produced, or exhibited to view; out of sight; remaining.
    • 1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], chapter 4, in An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Thomas Basset, […], OCLC 153628242 ↗, book I, page 16 ↗:
      We cannot be sure that there is no evidence behind.
Translations
  • German: hinten
  • Portuguese: para trás
  • Russian: сза́ди
Translations
  • Portuguese: para trás
  • Russian: наза́д
Noun

behind (plural behinds)

  1. the rear, back-end
  2. (informal) butt, the buttocks, bottom
  3. (Australian rules football) A one-point score.
  4. (baseball, slang, 1800s) The catcher.
  5. In the Eton College field game, any of a group of players consisting of two "shorts" (who try to kick the ball over the bully) and a "long" (who defends the goal).
Translations Translations Related terms


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