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Etymology 1

From Middle English bak, from Old English bæc, from Proto-West Germanic *bak, from Proto-Germanic *baką, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- (“to bend”). The adverb represents an aphetic form of aback. Compare Middle Low German bak (“back”), from Old Saxon bak, and West Frisian bekling (“chair back”), Old High German bah, Swedish and Norwegian bak. Cognate with German Bache (“sow [adult female hog]”).

adj

1. At or near the rear.
   Go in the back door of the house.
2. (predicative) Returned or restored to a previous place or condition.
   He was on vacation, but now he’s back.
   The office fell into chaos when you left, but now order is back.
3. Not current.
   I’d like to find a back issue of that magazine.
4. Situated away from the main or most frequented areas.
   They took a back road.
   He lives out in the back country.
5. In arrears; overdue.
   They still owe three months' back rent.
6. Moving or operating backward.
   back action
7. (comparable, phonetics) Pronounced with the highest part of the body of the tongue toward the back of the mouth, near the soft palate (most often describing a vowel).
   The vowel of lot has a back vowel in most dialects of England.

adv

1. (not comparable) To or in a previous condition or place.
   From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away. 2013-06-08, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52
   He gave back the money.
   I left my mobile phone back at the hotel. I'll have to go back and get it.
2. In a direction opposite to that in which someone or something is facing or normally pointing.
   Someone pushed me in the chest and I fell back.
   The grandfather clock toppled back and crashed to the ground.
   Her arm was bent back at an odd angle.
3. In a direction opposite to the usual or desired direction of movement or progress, physically or figuratively.
   Wind the film back a few frames.
   Don't forget to put the clocks back by one hour tonight!
   This mishap has set the project back considerably.
4. So as to reverse direction and return.
   The light bounces back off the mirror.
5. Towards, into or in the past.
   These records go back years.
   He built a time machine and travelled back to 1800.
   Think back to how you felt last year.
   Everything was simpler back in the old days.
6. Away from someone or something; at a distance.
   Keep back! It could explode at any moment!
7. Away from the front or from an edge.
   Sit all the way back in your chair.
   Step back from the curb.
   Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path […]. It twisted and turned,[…]and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn. And, back of the lawn, was a big, old-fashioned house, with piazzas stretching in front of it, and all blazing with lights. 'Twas the house I'd seen the roof of from the beach. 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients
8. So as to shrink, recede or move aside, or cause to do so.
   This tree is dying back.
   Clear back all this vegetation.
   Draw back the curtains and let in some light.
9. In a manner that impedes.
   Fear held him back.
10. (not comparable) In a reciprocal manner; in return.
    If you hurt me, I'll hurt you back.
11. (postpositive) Earlier, ago.
    We met many years back.
    I last saw him a day or two back.
12. To a later point in time. See also put back.
    The meeting has been moved back an hour. It was at 3 o'clock; now it's at 4 o'clock.

noun

1. The rear of the body, especially the part between the neck and the end of the spine and opposite the chest and belly.
   1. The spine and associated tissues.
      I hurt my back lifting those crates.
   2. (slang, uncountable) Large and attractive buttocks.
      Take the average black man and ask him that. She gotta pack much back. 1992, “Baby Got Back”, Sir Mix-A-Lot (lyrics)
      He got his hand on her behind and caressed her firm, ample flesh.[…]"You got some back on you, girl." 2002, George Pelecanos, Right as Rain: A Novel, page 123
   3. (figurative) The part of a piece of clothing which covers the back.
      I still need to finish the back of your dress.
   4. The backrest, the part of a piece of furniture which receives the human back.
      Can you fix the back of this chair?
   5. (obsolete) That part of the body that bears clothing. (Now used only in the phrase clothes on one's back.)
      Do thou but think / What 'tis to cram a maw or clothe a back / From such a filthy vice 1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure
2. That which is farthest away from the front.
   1. The side of any object which is opposite the front or useful side.
      1. The edge of a book which is bound.
         The titles are printed on the backs of the books.
      2. (printing) The inside margin of a page.
         Convenience and custom have familiarised us to the printed page being a little higher than the middle of the leaf, and to its having a little more margin at the fore edge than in the back. 1841, William Savage, A Dictionary of the Art of Printing, Ayer Publishing, published 1965, page 472
      3. The side of a blade opposite the side used for cutting.
         Tap it with the back of your knife.
   2. The reverse side; the side that is not normally seen.
      I hung the clothes on the back of the door.
   3. Area behind, such as the backyard of a house.
      We'll meet out in the back of the library.
   4. The part of something that goes last.
      The car was near the back of the train.
   5. (sports) In some team sports, a position behind most players on the team.
      The backs were lined up in an I formation.
      […]Rovers were also aided by some poor defending from West Brom, whose lapses at the back undid their excellent work on the ball and condemned Roberto di Matteo's Baggies side to a third straight defeat. December 28, 2010, Kevin Darlin, “West Brom 1-3 Blackburn”, in BBC
3. (figurative) Upper part of a natural object which is considered to resemble an animal's back.
   The small boat raced over the backs of the waves.
4. A support or resource in reserve.
5. (nautical) The keel and keelson of a ship.
   The ship's back broke in the pounding surf.
6. (mining) The roof of a horizontal underground passage.
   The stope is kept full of broken ore, sufficient only being drawn to leave a working space between the floor of broken ore and the back of the stope. 1911, Robert Bruce Brinsmade, Mining Without Timber, page 161
7. (slang, uncountable) Effort, usually physical.
   Put some back into it!
8. A non-alcoholic drink (often water or a soft drink), to go with hard liquor or a cocktail.
   Could I get a martini with a water back?
9. Among leather dealers, one of the thickest and stoutest tanned hides.
   […]as delivered by a tanner the average weight of a back and two strips would be about 42 pounds[…]. 1848, Maine Supreme Judicial Court, Maine Reports, volume 6, page 397
10. (swimming) Clipping of backstroke.

verb

1. (intransitive) To go in the reverse direction.
   the train backed into the station;  the horse refuses to back
   Thinks I to myself, “Sol, you're run off your course again. This is a rich man's summer ‘cottage’[…].” So I started to back away again into the bushes. But I hadn't backed more'n a couple of yards when I see something so amazing that I couldn't help scooching down behind the bayberries and looking at it. 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients
2. (transitive) To support.
   I back you all the way;  which horse are you backing in this race?
   And Netherlands, backed by a typically noisy and colourful travelling support, started the second period in blistering fashion and could have had four goals within 10 minutes June 9, 2012, Owen Phillips, “Euro 2012: Netherlands 0-1 Denmark”, in BBC Sport
   The Senate Foreign Relations Committee backed the Taiwan Policy Act of 2022 by 17-5, despite concerns about the bill in U.S. President Joe Biden's administration and anger about the measure from Beijing. September 15, 2022, “China lodges complaint as U.S. Senate panel advances Taiwan bill”, in Reuters, archived from the original on 2022-09-15, Asia Pacific
3. (nautical, of the wind) To change direction contrary to the normal pattern; that is, to shift anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere, or clockwise in the southern hemisphere.
4. (nautical, of a square sail) To brace the yards so that the wind presses on the front of the sail, to slow the ship.
5. (nautical, of an anchor) To lay out a second, smaller anchor to provide additional holding power.
6. (UK, of a hunting dog) To stand still behind another dog which has pointed.
7. (transitive) To push or force backwards.
   to back oxen
   The mugger backed her into a corner and demanded her wallet.
   "The soil seems to be very good; the creek runs through the reserve, and has a dam thrown across it, which backs the water for a very considerable distance, and enables them to irrigate a portion of their cultivation block. 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 279
8. (transitive, obsolete) To get upon the back of; to mount.
   The horse was the grey stallion he aye rode, the very beast he had ridden for many a wager with the wild lads of the Cross Keys. No man but himself durst back it, and it had lamed many a hostler lad and broke two necks in its day. 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide
9. (transitive, obsolete) To place or seat upon the back.
10. To make a back for; to furnish with a back.
    to back books
11. To adjoin behind; to be at the back of.
    the chalk cliffs which back the beach 1877, Thomas Henry Huxley, Physiography: An Introduction to the Study of Nature
    So we continue climbing to the saddle of the Kleine Scheidegg, where ahead there comes into view the wide expanse of the Grindelwald valley, backed by the snowy crown of the Wetterhorn. 1960 December, Voyageur, “The Mountain Railways of the Bernese Oberland”, in Trains Illustrated, page 752
12. To write upon the back of, possibly as an endorsement.
    to back a letter;  to back a note or legal document
13. (law, of a justice of the peace) To sign or endorse (a warrant, issued in another county, to apprehend an offender).
14. To row backward with (oars).
    to back the oars
15. (MLE, transitive) To draw from behind the back [+accusative = a knife etc.] (as also back out).
    Sticks and Stones may break my bones Not when I back this botty 2017-08-04, “Sticks and Stones”performed by Zone 2 (Kwengface x Trizzac x PS)
    When I back this blade, wallahi The hearts get beat like they just saw jihadi 2020-08-13, TwoLzz (lyrics and music), “TwentyTwo”, 1:14–1:18
16. (Nigeria, transitive) To carry an infant on one's back.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from French bac.

noun

1. A large shallow vat; a cistern, tub, or trough, used by brewers, distillers, dyers, picklers, gluemakers, and others, for mixing or cooling wort, holding water, hot glue, etc.
2. A ferryboat.