Behind

Pronunciation

• preposition, adverb
• IPA: /bɪˈhaɪnd/, /bəˈhaɪnd/
• noun
• IPA: /ˈbiːˌhaɪnd/
• Hyphenation: be + hind

Origin

From Old English behindan.

Full definition of behind

Preposition

1. At the back of.
• 1879, Richard Jefferies, The Amateur Poacher Chapter 1, 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.
• 2013-07-19, Timothy Garton Ash, Where Dr Pangloss meets Machiavelli, Hidden behind thickets of acronyms and gorse bushes of detail, a new great game is under way across the globe. Some call it geoeconomics, but it's geopolitics too. The current power play consists of an extraordinary range of countries simultaneously sitting down to negotiate big free trade and investment agreements.
2. To the back of.
3. After, time- or motion-wise.
• 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure IslandAbout the center, and a good way behind the rest, Silver and I followed - I tethered by my rope...
4. Responsible for.
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.
• Bible, 2 Corinthians xi. 5I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles.

Synonyms

• in back of
• to the rear of

Adverb

1. At the back part; in the rear.
• MiltonI 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 afterwardsHe left behind a legacy of death and sorrow.He stayed behind after the war.
• ShakespeareYea, 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.
• Bible, Phil. ii. 13forgetting those things which are behind
7. Behind the scenes in a theatre; backstage.
• 1890, Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Vintage 2007, p. 68:‘After the performance was over I went behind, and spoke to her.’
8. (archaic) Not yet brought forward, produced, or exhibited to view; out of sight; remaining.
• John LockeWe cannot be sure that there is no evidence behind.

Usage notes

For usage in phrasal verbs, see Category: English phrasal verbs with particle "behind": .

Noun

1. the rear, back-end
2. bottom, downside
3. butt, the buttocks
4. (Australian rules football) A one-point score.
• 1880. "The Opening Ball" in Comic Australian Verse, ed. G. Lehmann, 1975. Quoted in G. A. Wilkes, A Dictionary of Australian Colloquialisms, second edition, 1985, Sydney University Press, ISBN 0-424-00113-6.A roar from ten thousand throats go up,
  

1. (baseball, slang, 1800s) The catcher.
2. 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).

Derived terms

Related terms

• hind