Backwards

How to spell backwards

9 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce backwards

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does backwards mean?

1. adverbToward the rear, or in the reverse of the usual direction or order.

Backwards in a sentence

• She stepped backwards to let the trolley pass.

• The toddler counted backwards from ten before falling asleep.

Where does backwards come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word is built entirely from native English parts and goes back to Old English. The first element is 'baec', meaning the back or rear of something, and the second is the directional suffix '-weard', which meant 'turned toward' and survives today in words like 'toward', 'forward', and 'homeward'. So the literal sense is 'turned toward the back'. The final '-s' is the so-called adverbial genitive, the same surviving '-s' you hear in 'always', 'sideways', and 'unawares'; it began as a possessive case ending that drifted into marking adverbs. Because British, Canadian, and some American usage favour the '-s' form for the adverb (while the adjective is usually 'backward'), the spelling trap is simply remembering the silent-feeling 'w' and that the ending is '-wards', not '-words'.

How the word is built

• back (the rear)
• -ward (in the direction of)
• -s (adverbial -s, an old genitive ending)