"backstop" meaning in English

See backstop in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Audio: en-au-backstop.ogg Forms: backstops [plural]
Etymology: From back + stop. Etymology templates: {{compound|en|back|stop}} back + stop Head templates: {{en-noun}} backstop (plural backstops)
  1. A thing or a person put in the rear or in the back of something to reinforce, hold, support. Coordinate_terms (thing or a person to support): rearguard Translations (thing or a person to support): achtervang [common-gender] (Dutch), Rückhalt [masculine] (German), Schutz [masculine] (German), Unterstützung [feminine] (German), Sicherung (German), Rettungsschirm [masculine] (German), Sicherheitsnetz [neuter] (German), spalleggiamento [masculine] (Italian), supporto [masculine] (Italian), respaldo [masculine] (Portuguese), batente [masculine] (Portuguese)
    Sense id: en-backstop-en-noun-t0wCnBTq Categories (other): English links with manual fragments Disambiguation of 'thing or a person to support': 91 0 0 0 5 0 0 4 Disambiguation of 'thing or a person to support': 91 0 0 0 5 0 0 4
  2. A default arrangement that holds if all else fails. Translations (default arrangement): noodoplossing [common-gender] (Dutch), Letztsicherung [feminine] (German), Notlösung [feminine] (German), Auffanglösung [feminine] (German), cúlstop [masculine] (Irish), garanzia [feminine] (Italian), copertura [feminine] (Italian), rede de proteção [feminine] (Portuguese), salvaguarda [feminine] (Portuguese)
    Sense id: en-backstop-en-noun--88tao5b Categories (other): English links with manual fragments Disambiguation of 'default arrangement': 4 73 5 3 1 4 5 4
  3. (baseball) A wall or fence behind home plate. Categories (topical): Baseball Translations (wall or fence behind home plate): Abfangzaun [masculine] (German)
    Sense id: en-backstop-en-noun-SsYuoZTi Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Dutch translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Irish translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Maori translations, Terms with Portuguese translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 9 7 33 10 2 20 14 4 1 2 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 6 4 51 6 2 13 7 3 3 4 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 5 6 36 10 2 22 12 3 2 4 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 4 3 40 10 2 23 12 2 2 2 Disambiguation of Terms with Dutch translations: 8 6 38 8 3 14 9 4 4 5 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 7 6 38 8 4 15 10 4 3 4 Disambiguation of Terms with Irish translations: 6 5 34 14 5 14 12 4 2 4 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 7 5 44 8 3 14 9 4 3 4 Disambiguation of Terms with Maori translations: 6 5 40 11 4 14 10 4 2 4 Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 17 7 29 10 6 13 9 3 2 3 Topics: ball-games, baseball, games, hobbies, lifestyle, sports Disambiguation of 'wall or fence behind home plate': 1 1 74 6 3 8 6 1
  4. (baseball, slang) A catcher; the position of catcher. Tags: slang Categories (topical): Baseball Translations (catcher; the position of catcher): tautopenga (Maori)
    Sense id: en-backstop-en-noun-fFB52OZk Topics: ball-games, baseball, games, hobbies, lifestyle, sports Disambiguation of 'catcher; the position of catcher': 0 0 5 85 1 4 4 0
  5. (rounders) The player who stands immediately behind the striking base.
    Sense id: en-backstop-en-noun-3HnPRgfH
  6. (cricket, dated) The longstop. Tags: dated Categories (topical): Cricket
    Sense id: en-backstop-en-noun-0fcPyd6v Topics: ball-games, cricket, games, hobbies, lifestyle, sports
  7. (cricket, dated) The wicket-keeper. Tags: dated Categories (topical): Cricket
    Sense id: en-backstop-en-noun-UzYZTf8n Topics: ball-games, cricket, games, hobbies, lifestyle, sports
  8. (espionage) Something serving to bolster or support a cover story etc. Categories (topical): Espionage
    Sense id: en-backstop-en-noun-z3nOhigd Topics: espionage, government, military, politics, war
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: back-stop

Verb

Audio: en-au-backstop.ogg Forms: backstops [present, singular, third-person], backstopping [participle, present], backstopped [participle, past], backstopped [past]
Etymology: From back + stop. Etymology templates: {{compound|en|back|stop}} back + stop Head templates: {{en-verb|++}} backstop (third-person singular simple present backstops, present participle backstopping, simple past and past participle backstopped)
  1. (transitive) To serve as backstop for. Tags: transitive Translations (serve as backstop): salvaguardar (Portuguese)
    Sense id: en-backstop-en-verb-ae0gaAql Disambiguation of 'serve as backstop': 100 0
  2. (transitive) To bolster, support. Tags: transitive Translations (support): Rückendeckung geben (German)
    Sense id: en-backstop-en-verb-5VISEAAc Disambiguation of 'support': 0 100
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: back-stop

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "back",
        "3": "stop"
      },
      "expansion": "back + stop",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From back + stop.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "backstops",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "backstop (plural backstops)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English links with manual fragments",
          "parents": [
            "Links with manual fragments",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "coordinate_terms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "91 0 0 0 5 0 0 4",
          "sense": "thing or a person to support",
          "word": "rearguard"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Coordinate term: backup"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A thing or a person put in the rear or in the back of something to reinforce, hold, support."
      ],
      "id": "en-backstop-en-noun-t0wCnBTq",
      "links": [
        [
          "rear",
          "rear"
        ],
        [
          "back",
          "back"
        ],
        [
          "reinforce",
          "reinforce"
        ],
        [
          "hold",
          "hold"
        ],
        [
          "support",
          "support"
        ]
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "91 0 0 0 5 0 0 4",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "thing or a person to support",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "achtervang"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 0 0 0 5 0 0 4",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "thing or a person to support",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Rückhalt"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 0 0 0 5 0 0 4",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "thing or a person to support",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Schutz"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 0 0 0 5 0 0 4",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "thing or a person to support",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Unterstützung"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 0 0 0 5 0 0 4",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "thing or a person to support",
          "word": "Sicherung"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 0 0 0 5 0 0 4",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "thing or a person to support",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Rettungsschirm"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 0 0 0 5 0 0 4",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "thing or a person to support",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "Sicherheitsnetz"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 0 0 0 5 0 0 4",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "thing or a person to support",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "spalleggiamento"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 0 0 0 5 0 0 4",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "thing or a person to support",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "supporto"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 0 0 0 5 0 0 4",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "thing or a person to support",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "respaldo"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 0 0 0 5 0 0 4",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "thing or a person to support",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "batente"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English links with manual fragments",
          "parents": [
            "Links with manual fragments",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Coordinate term: backup"
        },
        {
          "ref": "The Express, 7 June 2018",
          "text": "Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar, this morning, said a time-limited backstop would be unacceptable, and has previously promised to vote down the UK’s Brexit withdrawal deal unless it features a satisfactory backstop."
        },
        {
          "ref": "The Irish Times, 17 November 2018",
          "text": "\"The 2½ years since have been about hammering home these points in any European capital that would listen. And in spite of capacity-sapping talks on the first point – Brexit, border and backstop – the Department of Foreign Affairs and other government departments have been working quietly to make good on the second."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A default arrangement that holds if all else fails."
      ],
      "id": "en-backstop-en-noun--88tao5b",
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "4 73 5 3 1 4 5 4",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "default arrangement",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "noodoplossing"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 73 5 3 1 4 5 4",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "default arrangement",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Letztsicherung"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 73 5 3 1 4 5 4",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "default arrangement",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Notlösung"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 73 5 3 1 4 5 4",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "default arrangement",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Auffanglösung"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 73 5 3 1 4 5 4",
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "sense": "default arrangement",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "cúlstop"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 73 5 3 1 4 5 4",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "default arrangement",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "garanzia"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 73 5 3 1 4 5 4",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "default arrangement",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "copertura"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 73 5 3 1 4 5 4",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "default arrangement",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "rede de proteção"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 73 5 3 1 4 5 4",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "default arrangement",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "salvaguarda"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Baseball",
          "orig": "en:Baseball",
          "parents": [
            "Ball games",
            "Sports",
            "Human activity",
            "Human behaviour",
            "Human",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "9 7 33 10 2 20 14 4 1 2",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "6 4 51 6 2 13 7 3 3 4",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "5 6 36 10 2 22 12 3 2 4",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
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        },
        {
          "_dis": "4 3 40 10 2 23 12 2 2 2",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "8 6 38 8 3 14 9 4 4 5",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Dutch translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "7 6 38 8 4 15 10 4 3 4",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "6 5 34 14 5 14 12 4 2 4",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Irish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "7 5 44 8 3 14 9 4 3 4",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "6 5 40 11 4 14 10 4 2 4",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Maori translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "17 7 29 10 6 13 9 3 2 3",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A wall or fence behind home plate."
      ],
      "id": "en-backstop-en-noun-SsYuoZTi",
      "links": [
        [
          "baseball",
          "baseball"
        ],
        [
          "wall",
          "wall"
        ],
        [
          "fence",
          "fence"
        ],
        [
          "home plate",
          "home plate"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(baseball) A wall or fence behind home plate."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "ball-games",
        "baseball",
        "games",
        "hobbies",
        "lifestyle",
        "sports"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "1 1 74 6 3 8 6 1",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "wall or fence behind home plate",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Abfangzaun"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Baseball",
          "orig": "en:Baseball",
          "parents": [
            "Ball games",
            "Sports",
            "Human activity",
            "Human behaviour",
            "Human",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2002, James F. Vail, Outrageous Fortune: What's Wrong with Hall of Fame Voting and How to Make It Statistically Sound, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 143:",
          "text": "Bench may be the greatest catcher subjectively, but he's not statistically. Statwise, Yogi Berra is the all-time backstop, regardless of which measure you prefer. Berra's Total-Z is one-third of a standard deviation higher than Bench's, and his Core-Z average is a point better.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A catcher; the position of catcher."
      ],
      "id": "en-backstop-en-noun-fFB52OZk",
      "links": [
        [
          "baseball",
          "baseball"
        ],
        [
          "catcher",
          "catcher"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(baseball, slang) A catcher; the position of catcher."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "slang"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "ball-games",
        "baseball",
        "games",
        "hobbies",
        "lifestyle",
        "sports"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "0 0 5 85 1 4 4 0",
          "code": "mi",
          "lang": "Maori",
          "sense": "catcher; the position of catcher",
          "word": "tautopenga"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "The player who stands immediately behind the striking base."
      ],
      "id": "en-backstop-en-noun-3HnPRgfH",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rounders) The player who stands immediately behind the striking base."
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Cricket",
          "orig": "en:Cricket",
          "parents": [
            "Ball games",
            "Sports",
            "Human activity",
            "Human behaviour",
            "Human",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The longstop."
      ],
      "id": "en-backstop-en-noun-0fcPyd6v",
      "links": [
        [
          "cricket",
          "cricket"
        ],
        [
          "longstop",
          "longstop"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(cricket, dated) The longstop."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dated"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "ball-games",
        "cricket",
        "games",
        "hobbies",
        "lifestyle",
        "sports"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Cricket",
          "orig": "en:Cricket",
          "parents": [
            "Ball games",
            "Sports",
            "Human activity",
            "Human behaviour",
            "Human",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The wicket-keeper."
      ],
      "id": "en-backstop-en-noun-UzYZTf8n",
      "links": [
        [
          "cricket",
          "cricket"
        ],
        [
          "wicket-keeper",
          "wicket-keeper"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(cricket, dated) The wicket-keeper."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dated"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "ball-games",
        "cricket",
        "games",
        "hobbies",
        "lifestyle",
        "sports"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Espionage",
          "orig": "en:Espionage",
          "parents": [
            "Deception",
            "Secrecy",
            "Security",
            "Ethics",
            "Human behaviour",
            "Society",
            "Philosophy",
            "Human",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1976, Joseph Burkholder Smith, Portrait of a Cold Warrior, page 116:",
          "text": "[…] to be set up in Indonesia with a phony book and school supplies company established in New York City as a backstop.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1990, Bruce W. Watson, Susan M. Watson, Gerald W. Hopple, United States intelligence: an encyclopedia, page 1974:",
          "text": "Closely representing an alibi, creating a backstop could involve such measures as having people available to verify the details of an agent's cover story.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Something serving to bolster or support a cover story etc."
      ],
      "id": "en-backstop-en-noun-z3nOhigd",
      "links": [
        [
          "espionage",
          "espionage"
        ],
        [
          "bolster",
          "bolster"
        ],
        [
          "support",
          "support"
        ],
        [
          "cover story",
          "cover story"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(espionage) Something serving to bolster or support a cover story etc."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "espionage",
        "government",
        "military",
        "politics",
        "war"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-backstop.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/08/En-au-backstop.ogg/En-au-backstop.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/En-au-backstop.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "back-stop"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "backstop"
  ],
  "word": "backstop"
}

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "back",
        "3": "stop"
      },
      "expansion": "back + stop",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From back + stop.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "backstops",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "backstopping",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "backstopped",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "backstopped",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "++"
      },
      "expansion": "backstop (third-person singular simple present backstops, present participle backstopping, simple past and past participle backstopped)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "glosses": [
        "To serve as backstop for."
      ],
      "id": "en-backstop-en-verb-ae0gaAql",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To serve as backstop for."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "serve as backstop",
          "word": "salvaguardar"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2013 March 26, Douglas Busvine, Darya Korsunskaya, “Russia backstops Cyprus bailout despite anger”, in Reuters, archived from the original on 2013-03-29:",
          "text": "Russia signalled on Monday it would backstop the European Union's bailout of Cyprus despite anger that the weekend rescue deal would impose heavy losses on uninsured depositors, many of them Russian.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To bolster, support."
      ],
      "id": "en-backstop-en-verb-5VISEAAc",
      "links": [
        [
          "bolster",
          "bolster"
        ],
        [
          "support",
          "support"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To bolster, support."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "0 100",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "support",
          "word": "Rückendeckung geben"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-backstop.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/08/En-au-backstop.ogg/En-au-backstop.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/En-au-backstop.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "back-stop"
    }
  ],
  "word": "backstop"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English compound terms",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English verbs",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Dutch translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Irish translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Maori translations",
    "Terms with Portuguese translations"
  ],
  "coordinate_terms": [
    {
      "sense": "thing or a person to support",
      "word": "rearguard"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "back",
        "3": "stop"
      },
      "expansion": "back + stop",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From back + stop.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "backstops",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "backstop (plural backstops)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English links with manual fragments"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Coordinate term: backup"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A thing or a person put in the rear or in the back of something to reinforce, hold, support."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "rear",
          "rear"
        ],
        [
          "back",
          "back"
        ],
        [
          "reinforce",
          "reinforce"
        ],
        [
          "hold",
          "hold"
        ],
        [
          "support",
          "support"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English links with manual fragments"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Coordinate term: backup"
        },
        {
          "ref": "The Express, 7 June 2018",
          "text": "Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar, this morning, said a time-limited backstop would be unacceptable, and has previously promised to vote down the UK’s Brexit withdrawal deal unless it features a satisfactory backstop."
        },
        {
          "ref": "The Irish Times, 17 November 2018",
          "text": "\"The 2½ years since have been about hammering home these points in any European capital that would listen. And in spite of capacity-sapping talks on the first point – Brexit, border and backstop – the Department of Foreign Affairs and other government departments have been working quietly to make good on the second."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A default arrangement that holds if all else fails."
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "en:Baseball"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A wall or fence behind home plate."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "baseball",
          "baseball"
        ],
        [
          "wall",
          "wall"
        ],
        [
          "fence",
          "fence"
        ],
        [
          "home plate",
          "home plate"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(baseball) A wall or fence behind home plate."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "ball-games",
        "baseball",
        "games",
        "hobbies",
        "lifestyle",
        "sports"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English slang",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "en:Baseball"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2002, James F. Vail, Outrageous Fortune: What's Wrong with Hall of Fame Voting and How to Make It Statistically Sound, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 143:",
          "text": "Bench may be the greatest catcher subjectively, but he's not statistically. Statwise, Yogi Berra is the all-time backstop, regardless of which measure you prefer. Berra's Total-Z is one-third of a standard deviation higher than Bench's, and his Core-Z average is a point better.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A catcher; the position of catcher."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "baseball",
          "baseball"
        ],
        [
          "catcher",
          "catcher"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(baseball, slang) A catcher; the position of catcher."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "slang"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "ball-games",
        "baseball",
        "games",
        "hobbies",
        "lifestyle",
        "sports"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "The player who stands immediately behind the striking base."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rounders) The player who stands immediately behind the striking base."
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English dated terms",
        "en:Cricket"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The longstop."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "cricket",
          "cricket"
        ],
        [
          "longstop",
          "longstop"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(cricket, dated) The longstop."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dated"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "ball-games",
        "cricket",
        "games",
        "hobbies",
        "lifestyle",
        "sports"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English dated terms",
        "en:Cricket"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The wicket-keeper."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "cricket",
          "cricket"
        ],
        [
          "wicket-keeper",
          "wicket-keeper"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(cricket, dated) The wicket-keeper."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dated"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "ball-games",
        "cricket",
        "games",
        "hobbies",
        "lifestyle",
        "sports"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned",
        "en:Espionage"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1976, Joseph Burkholder Smith, Portrait of a Cold Warrior, page 116:",
          "text": "[…] to be set up in Indonesia with a phony book and school supplies company established in New York City as a backstop.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1990, Bruce W. Watson, Susan M. Watson, Gerald W. Hopple, United States intelligence: an encyclopedia, page 1974:",
          "text": "Closely representing an alibi, creating a backstop could involve such measures as having people available to verify the details of an agent's cover story.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Something serving to bolster or support a cover story etc."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "espionage",
          "espionage"
        ],
        [
          "bolster",
          "bolster"
        ],
        [
          "support",
          "support"
        ],
        [
          "cover story",
          "cover story"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(espionage) Something serving to bolster or support a cover story etc."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "espionage",
        "government",
        "military",
        "politics",
        "war"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-backstop.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/08/En-au-backstop.ogg/En-au-backstop.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/En-au-backstop.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "back-stop"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "thing or a person to support",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "achtervang"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "thing or a person to support",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Rückhalt"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "thing or a person to support",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Schutz"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "thing or a person to support",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Unterstützung"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "thing or a person to support",
      "word": "Sicherung"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "thing or a person to support",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Rettungsschirm"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "thing or a person to support",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "Sicherheitsnetz"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "thing or a person to support",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "spalleggiamento"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "thing or a person to support",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "supporto"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "thing or a person to support",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "respaldo"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "thing or a person to support",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "batente"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "default arrangement",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "noodoplossing"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "default arrangement",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Letztsicherung"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "default arrangement",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Notlösung"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "default arrangement",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Auffanglösung"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "sense": "default arrangement",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "cúlstop"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "default arrangement",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "garanzia"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "default arrangement",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "copertura"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "default arrangement",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "rede de proteção"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "default arrangement",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "salvaguarda"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "wall or fence behind home plate",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Abfangzaun"
    },
    {
      "code": "mi",
      "lang": "Maori",
      "sense": "catcher; the position of catcher",
      "word": "tautopenga"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "backstop"
  ],
  "word": "backstop"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English compound terms",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English verbs",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Dutch translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Irish translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Maori translations",
    "Terms with Portuguese translations"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "back",
        "3": "stop"
      },
      "expansion": "back + stop",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From back + stop.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "backstops",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "backstopping",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "backstopped",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "backstopped",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "++"
      },
      "expansion": "backstop (third-person singular simple present backstops, present participle backstopping, simple past and past participle backstopped)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To serve as backstop for."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To serve as backstop for."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2013 March 26, Douglas Busvine, Darya Korsunskaya, “Russia backstops Cyprus bailout despite anger”, in Reuters, archived from the original on 2013-03-29:",
          "text": "Russia signalled on Monday it would backstop the European Union's bailout of Cyprus despite anger that the weekend rescue deal would impose heavy losses on uninsured depositors, many of them Russian.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To bolster, support."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "bolster",
          "bolster"
        ],
        [
          "support",
          "support"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To bolster, support."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-backstop.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/08/En-au-backstop.ogg/En-au-backstop.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/En-au-backstop.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "back-stop"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "serve as backstop",
      "word": "salvaguardar"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "support",
      "word": "Rückendeckung geben"
    }
  ],
  "word": "backstop"
}

Download raw JSONL data for backstop meaning in English (10.2kB)

{
  "called_from": "form_descriptions/1831",
  "msg": "unrecognized sense qualifier: rounders",
  "path": [
    "backstop"
  ],
  "section": "English",
  "subsection": "noun",
  "title": "backstop",
  "trace": ""
}

{
  "called_from": "form_descriptions/1831",
  "msg": "unrecognized sense qualifier: rounders",
  "path": [
    "backstop"
  ],
  "section": "English",
  "subsection": "noun",
  "title": "backstop",
  "trace": ""
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). 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.