Backlog

How to spell backlog

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce backlog

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does backlog mean?

1. nounAn accumulation of uncompleted work, unfilled orders, or matters still awaiting attention.

Backlog in a sentence

• The support team spent the weekend clearing a huge backlog of customer emails.

• A backlog of repair requests built up while the maintenance crew was short-staffed.

Where does backlog come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a transparent English compound of the everyday words 'back' and 'log', but its earliest sense was surprisingly literal. In the 1680s a 'back-log' was the large log placed at the very back of a fireplace, behind the smaller burning wood, where it smouldered slowly and kept the fire alive for a long time. Because that big reserve log represented stored, slow-burning fuel held in reserve, the word drifted by the 1880s into a figurative meaning: a reserve or accumulation held back for later use. From there it narrowed in modern office and industrial English to its dominant sense today, a pile of work, orders, or tasks that have built up and still wait to be cleared. The spelling stays faithful to its two simple parts, so the only trap is remembering it is one solid word with no space or hyphen.

How the word is built

• back (rear, behind)
• log (originally a large log; later a record or accumulation)