"backroom" meaning in All languages combined

See backroom on Wiktionary

Noun [English]

IPA: /ˈbækˌɹuːm/ [UK], /ˈbækˌɹʊm/ [UK], /ˈbækˌɹum/ [US] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-backroom.wav Forms: backrooms [plural], back room [alternative]
Rhymes: -uːm Etymology: Compound of back + room Etymology templates: {{glossary|Compound}} Compound, {{com+|en|back|room}} Compound of back + room Head templates: {{en-noun}} backroom (plural backrooms)
  1. A room near the rear of a premises.
    (often attributive, often figurative) Especially, one that is only accessible to a privileged few and can be used as an inconspicuous meeting place, where secrecy, anonymity, and even crooked dealings may occur.
    Tags: attributive, figuratively, often Synonyms: smoke-filled room[insider]]s> Hypernyms: room, place
    Sense id: en-backroom-en-noun-dgs89xN5 Categories (other): English terms with collocations, English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Catalan translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Polish translations, Terms with Portuguese translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Turkish translations, Rooms Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 78 22 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 71 29 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 74 26 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 87 13 Disambiguation of Terms with Catalan translations: 81 19 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 81 19 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 78 22 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 81 19 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 86 14 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 77 23 Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 86 14 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 87 13 Disambiguation of Terms with Turkish translations: 83 17 Disambiguation of Rooms: 50 50
  2. A room near the rear of a premises.
    A storeroom in the rear of the premises.
    Hypernyms: storeroom, room, place Translations (happening in a backroom): Hinterzimmer- (German), zaplecze [neuter] (Polish)
    Sense id: en-backroom-en-noun-k6ZIX9VO Categories (other): Rooms Disambiguation of Rooms: 50 50 Disambiguation of 'happening in a backroom': 39 61
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: backroom boy, backroom staff, Backrooms Related terms: back office, back of house Translations (room): darrere (Catalan), takahuone (Finnish), pièce à l'arrière [feminine] (French), Hinterzimmer [neuter] (German), retrobottega [feminine] (Italian), zaplecze [neuter] (Polish), fundos [masculine, plural] (Portuguese), apartado [masculine] (Spanish), rebotica [feminine] (Spanish), arka oda (Turkish)
Disambiguation of 'room': 50 50

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "backroom boy"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "backroom staff"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "Backrooms"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "Compound"
      },
      "expansion": "Compound",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "back",
        "3": "room"
      },
      "expansion": "Compound of back + room",
      "name": "com+"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Compound of back + room",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "backrooms",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "back room",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "backroom (plural backrooms)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "back office"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "back of house"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "front room"
        },
        {
          "word": ";"
        },
        {
          "word": "foreroom"
        },
        {
          "word": "anteroom"
        },
        {
          "word": "antechamber"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms with collocations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "78 22",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "71 29",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "74 26",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "87 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "81 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Catalan translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "81 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "78 22",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "81 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "86 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "77 23",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "86 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "87 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "83 17",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Turkish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "50 50",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Rooms",
          "orig": "en:Rooms",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Near-synonym: smoke-filled room (meeting place of crooked insiders)"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              0,
              8
            ]
          ],
          "tags": [
            "collocation"
          ],
          "text": "backroom deals",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              0,
              8
            ]
          ],
          "tags": [
            "collocation"
          ],
          "text": "backroom bargaining",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              154,
              162
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1964 July, “News and Comment: The Broad Street-Richmond line”, in Modern Railways, page 17:",
          "text": "It is known that means of using this end of the former NLR and Broad Street station to take an overspill of traffic from Liverpool Street have been under backroom study for some time.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              57,
              65
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2024 August 14, “Thai court dismisses PM for violating constitution”, in bbc.com:",
          "text": "The vote for a new prime minister will involve plenty of backroom bargaining, while Thailand struggles to revive its faltering economy.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A room near the rear of a premises.",
        "Especially, one that is only accessible to a privileged few and can be used as an inconspicuous meeting place, where secrecy, anonymity, and even crooked dealings may occur."
      ],
      "hypernyms": [
        {
          "word": "room"
        },
        {
          "word": "place"
        }
      ],
      "id": "en-backroom-en-noun-dgs89xN5",
      "links": [
        [
          "room",
          "room"
        ],
        [
          "rear",
          "rear"
        ],
        [
          "premises",
          "premises"
        ],
        [
          "accessible",
          "accessible"
        ],
        [
          "privileged",
          "privileged"
        ],
        [
          "few",
          "few"
        ],
        [
          "inconspicuous",
          "inconspicuous"
        ],
        [
          "meeting place",
          "meeting place"
        ],
        [
          "secrecy",
          "secrecy"
        ],
        [
          "anonymity",
          "anonymity"
        ],
        [
          "crooked",
          "crooked"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "A room near the rear of a premises.",
        "(often attributive, often figurative) Especially, one that is only accessible to a privileged few and can be used as an inconspicuous meeting place, where secrecy, anonymity, and even crooked dealings may occur."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "smoke-filled room[insider]]s>"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "attributive",
        "figuratively",
        "often"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "50 50",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Rooms",
          "orig": "en:Rooms",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              80,
              88
            ]
          ],
          "text": "We had thought that they were out of the old model, but somebody checked in the backroom and found a case of them.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A room near the rear of a premises.",
        "A storeroom in the rear of the premises."
      ],
      "hypernyms": [
        {
          "word": "storeroom"
        },
        {
          "word": "room"
        },
        {
          "word": "place"
        }
      ],
      "id": "en-backroom-en-noun-k6ZIX9VO",
      "links": [
        [
          "room",
          "room"
        ],
        [
          "rear",
          "rear"
        ],
        [
          "premises",
          "premises"
        ],
        [
          "storeroom",
          "storeroom"
        ]
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "39 61",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "lang_code": "de",
          "sense": "happening in a backroom",
          "word": "Hinterzimmer-"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "39 61",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "lang_code": "pl",
          "sense": "happening in a backroom",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "zaplecze"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbækˌɹuːm/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbækˌɹʊm/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-backroom.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/04/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-backroom.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-backroom.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/04/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-backroom.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-backroom.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbækˌɹum/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-uːm"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "lang_code": "ca",
      "sense": "room",
      "word": "darrere"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "room",
      "word": "takahuone"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "sense": "room",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "pièce à l'arrière"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "room",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "Hinterzimmer"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "lang_code": "it",
      "sense": "room",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "retrobottega"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "lang_code": "pl",
      "sense": "room",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "zaplecze"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "sense": "room",
      "tags": [
        "masculine",
        "plural"
      ],
      "word": "fundos"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "room",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "apartado"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "room",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "rebotica"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "lang_code": "tr",
      "sense": "room",
      "word": "arka oda"
    }
  ],
  "word": "backroom"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English compound terms",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/uːm",
    "Rhymes:English/uːm/2 syllables",
    "Terms with Catalan translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Polish translations",
    "Terms with Portuguese translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Turkish translations",
    "en:Rooms"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "backroom boy"
    },
    {
      "word": "backroom staff"
    },
    {
      "word": "Backrooms"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "Compound"
      },
      "expansion": "Compound",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "back",
        "3": "room"
      },
      "expansion": "Compound of back + room",
      "name": "com+"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Compound of back + room",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "backrooms",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "back room",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "backroom (plural backrooms)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "back office"
    },
    {
      "word": "back of house"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "front room"
        },
        {
          "word": ";"
        },
        {
          "word": "foreroom"
        },
        {
          "word": "anteroom"
        },
        {
          "word": "antechamber"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "English terms with collocations",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Near-synonym: smoke-filled room (meeting place of crooked insiders)"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              0,
              8
            ]
          ],
          "tags": [
            "collocation"
          ],
          "text": "backroom deals",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              0,
              8
            ]
          ],
          "tags": [
            "collocation"
          ],
          "text": "backroom bargaining",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              154,
              162
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1964 July, “News and Comment: The Broad Street-Richmond line”, in Modern Railways, page 17:",
          "text": "It is known that means of using this end of the former NLR and Broad Street station to take an overspill of traffic from Liverpool Street have been under backroom study for some time.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              57,
              65
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2024 August 14, “Thai court dismisses PM for violating constitution”, in bbc.com:",
          "text": "The vote for a new prime minister will involve plenty of backroom bargaining, while Thailand struggles to revive its faltering economy.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A room near the rear of a premises.",
        "Especially, one that is only accessible to a privileged few and can be used as an inconspicuous meeting place, where secrecy, anonymity, and even crooked dealings may occur."
      ],
      "hypernyms": [
        {
          "word": "room"
        },
        {
          "word": "place"
        }
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "room",
          "room"
        ],
        [
          "rear",
          "rear"
        ],
        [
          "premises",
          "premises"
        ],
        [
          "accessible",
          "accessible"
        ],
        [
          "privileged",
          "privileged"
        ],
        [
          "few",
          "few"
        ],
        [
          "inconspicuous",
          "inconspicuous"
        ],
        [
          "meeting place",
          "meeting place"
        ],
        [
          "secrecy",
          "secrecy"
        ],
        [
          "anonymity",
          "anonymity"
        ],
        [
          "crooked",
          "crooked"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "A room near the rear of a premises.",
        "(often attributive, often figurative) Especially, one that is only accessible to a privileged few and can be used as an inconspicuous meeting place, where secrecy, anonymity, and even crooked dealings may occur."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "smoke-filled room[insider]]s>"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "attributive",
        "figuratively",
        "often"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              80,
              88
            ]
          ],
          "text": "We had thought that they were out of the old model, but somebody checked in the backroom and found a case of them.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A room near the rear of a premises.",
        "A storeroom in the rear of the premises."
      ],
      "hypernyms": [
        {
          "word": "storeroom"
        },
        {
          "word": "room"
        },
        {
          "word": "place"
        }
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "room",
          "room"
        ],
        [
          "rear",
          "rear"
        ],
        [
          "premises",
          "premises"
        ],
        [
          "storeroom",
          "storeroom"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbækˌɹuːm/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbækˌɹʊm/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-backroom.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/04/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-backroom.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-backroom.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/04/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-backroom.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-backroom.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbækˌɹum/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-uːm"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "lang_code": "ca",
      "sense": "room",
      "word": "darrere"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "room",
      "word": "takahuone"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "sense": "room",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "pièce à l'arrière"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "room",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "Hinterzimmer"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "lang_code": "it",
      "sense": "room",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "retrobottega"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "lang_code": "pl",
      "sense": "room",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "zaplecze"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "sense": "room",
      "tags": [
        "masculine",
        "plural"
      ],
      "word": "fundos"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "room",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "apartado"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "room",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "rebotica"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "lang_code": "tr",
      "sense": "room",
      "word": "arka oda"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "happening in a backroom",
      "word": "Hinterzimmer-"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "lang_code": "pl",
      "sense": "happening in a backroom",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "zaplecze"
    }
  ],
  "word": "backroom"
}

Download raw JSONL data for backroom meaning in All languages combined (5.7kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-12-23 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-12-02 using wiktextract (6fdc867 and 9905b1f). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.