(chiefly Scotland) A courtyard behind a housing block or tenement building.
2008, James Kelman, Kieron Smith, Boy, Penguin 2009, p. 77:Some backcourts had wee outside buildings. They had caved-in roofs and tile chimneys broke off and all smashed windows.
2011, Brian McHugh, The Guardian, 8 Jan 2011:Each unique backcourt was an adventure playground with walls to be climbed, chasms to be leaped and dustbins to be raked through and pillaged.
(basketball) A team's defensive half of the court; the part of the court where the other team's basket is located, or the guards playing in that area.
So the Knicks, who began the season with a depleted frontcourt, have muddled through the last six weeks with a depleted backcourt as well.
