1
2
as in soft spots
a vulnerable point
a candidate needing a loyal aide who can be relied upon to always watch his back
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in endorses
to promote the interests or cause of
she enthusiastically backed the plan to renovate and upgrade the school's facilities
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in aids
to provide (someone) with what is useful or necessary to achieve an end
a number of influential people have already agreed to back the candidate
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in reinforces
to provide evidence or information for (as a claim or idea)
the author needs to back her thesis with more facts
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of backs
Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2026
Rogers was banged up in the spring, like most of the other running backs.
—Cameron Teague Robinson, New York Times, 1 May 2026
Cozy Earth notes the pillows can also help people with sleep apnea stay off their backs, and Groove points out that long body pillows are especially useful for pregnant sleepers in the third trimester.
—Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 1 May 2026
Center backs must play forward.
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 May 2026
Knight has been limited for more than half of the spring, working occasionally with the running backs during non-contact team periods.
—Gabriel Duarte, Daily News, 30 Apr. 2026
With their backs against the wall, the Knicks showed the Hawks there are levels to playoff basketball.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 26 Apr. 2026
Regis, listed at 6-foot-1 and 295 pounds, built his game at Texas A&M in the trenches as a nose tackle focused on slowing opposing running backs.
—Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 25 Apr. 2026
After initially transferring to Houston following the 2024 season, Scott transferred to Miami (following defensive backs coach Zac Etheridge, who left Houston for UM).
—Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 25 Apr. 2026
Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 3 May 2026
Base plans run $55 to $65 per month, and the company backs its repairs with a 60-day workmanship guarantee.
—Sharon Wu, USA Today, 1 May 2026
Gates backs the authority of localities such as Huntington Beach to set their own policies, including around elections, zoning, housing and the environment.
—Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
Del Castillo's solo homer cut the lead in half in the fourth, and Arenado gave the D-backs the lead for good with a 411-foot three-run shot three batters later.
—ABC News, 30 Apr. 2026
Neither Republican candidate backs the idea — but not all of the Democratic candidates do, either.
—Anne Bryson, CBS News, 30 Apr. 2026
If your household feels under siege right now, the data backs you up.
—Allison Palmer, Sacbee.com, 30 Apr. 2026
Data from the Newcastle game backs this up.
—Jon MacKenzie, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026
This pool area backs right up onto a lake, making for a super serene view.
—Sarah Lyon, The Spruce, 25 Apr. 2026
Noun
An exceptional head coach and an exciting quarterback, with the wind at their backs, racing toward a relatively breezy schedule?
—Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2026
Rogers was banged up in the spring, like most of the other running backs.
—Cameron Teague Robinson, New York Times, 1 May 2026
Cozy Earth notes the pillows can also help people with sleep apnea stay off their backs, and Groove points out that long body pillows are especially useful for pregnant sleepers in the third trimester.
—Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 1 May 2026
Center backs must play forward.
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 May 2026
Knight has been limited for more than half of the spring, working occasionally with the running backs during non-contact team periods.
—Gabriel Duarte, Daily News, 30 Apr. 2026
With their backs against the wall, the Knicks showed the Hawks there are levels to playoff basketball.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 26 Apr. 2026
Regis, listed at 6-foot-1 and 295 pounds, built his game at Texas A&M in the trenches as a nose tackle focused on slowing opposing running backs.
—Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 25 Apr. 2026
After initially transferring to Houston following the 2024 season, Scott transferred to Miami (following defensive backs coach Zac Etheridge, who left Houston for UM).
—Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 25 Apr. 2026
Verb
And Zoom wants to be the company that backs them.
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 3 May 2026
Base plans run $55 to $65 per month, and the company backs its repairs with a 60-day workmanship guarantee.
—Sharon Wu, USA Today, 1 May 2026
Gates backs the authority of localities such as Huntington Beach to set their own policies, including around elections, zoning, housing and the environment.
—Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
Del Castillo's solo homer cut the lead in half in the fourth, and Arenado gave the D-backs the lead for good with a 411-foot three-run shot three batters later.
—ABC News, 30 Apr. 2026
Neither Republican candidate backs the idea — but not all of the Democratic candidates do, either.
—Anne Bryson, CBS News, 30 Apr. 2026
If your household feels under siege right now, the data backs you up.
—Allison Palmer, Sacbee.com, 30 Apr. 2026
Data from the Newcastle game backs this up.
—Jon MacKenzie, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026
This pool area backs right up onto a lake, making for a super serene view.
—Sarah Lyon, The Spruce, 25 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backs
Noun
-
When justice recedes, revenge rears its bloodstained head.—
Charlie Tyson,
The Atlantic,
27 Apr. 2026
-
So, the most damaging scandal of Starmer’s premiership rears its head again at a profoundly unstable time for the government.—
Issy Ronald,
CNN Money,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Warping, soft spots, and cupping all indicate a structural weakness below.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Choose strawberries that are brightly colored, without mold or soft spots.—
Cathy Thomas,
Oc Register,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The Food and Drug Administration has approved the two-drug regimen to end pregnancies up to 10 weeks gestational age; the World Health Organization endorses it up to 12 weeks.—
Mara Gordon,
NPR,
4 May 2026
-
Please don’t fall for this con — even if the Labor Department endorses and promotes it.—
Terry Savage,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The addition of spoken word passages by local Geordie poet Cooper Robson, who drifts through balladic descriptions of community, working-class masculinity, and pickled onions, aids Knats in their explorations of their hometown.—
Archie Forde,
Pitchfork,
1 May 2026
-
Under Florida law, anyone who aids, abets or counsels someone in the commission of a crime may be considered a principal in the first degree.—
Julia Shapero,
The Hill,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The absence of a prescribed theme across the exhibition reinforces that multiplicity.—
Miguel Sirgado,
Miami Herald,
6 May 2026
-
Tuvia Gering, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, said the timing of Araghchi's visit is important, saying the meeting showed coordinated messaging between Beijing and Tehran and reinforces China's desire to have a seat in any future regional agreement.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 May 2026
Noun
-
Heads for United, tails for Liverpool.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
-
The president and king wore tails and white waistcoats.—
Elise Taylor,
Vanity Fair,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Once Woll’s bratty vamp was through draining jugulars, the actress found a second signature role as Karen Page on Marvel’s Daredevil (2015–2018).—
Matt Cabral,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Ariel Taylor Smith, senior director of the Center for Policy and Action at the National Parents Union, a nonprofit that advocates for parents, has seen this trend in her own fourth grader's public elementary school class in Vermont, whose teacher doesn't assign homework.—
Ariel Gilreath,
NPR,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Walker said Tuesday that advocates on both sides were expected to hold discussions in Springfield throughout the day.—
Olivia Olander,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Backs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backs. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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