backing

[bak-ing]

noun

1. aid or support of any kind.

   Synonyms: encouragement, patronage, sanction, sponsorship, endorsement, assistance, help

2. supporters or backers collectively.

3. something that forms the back or is placed at or attached to the back of anything to support, strengthen, or protect it.

4. Theater.,  a curtain or flat placed behind a window, entrance, or other opening in a stage set to conceal the offstage area.

5. material for backing a joist or rafter.

6. a bevel given to the outer and upper edge of a hip rafter.

7. the musical accompaniment for a soloist; backup.

backing

/ ˈbækɪŋ /

noun

1. support given to a person, cause, or enterprise

2. a body of supporters

3. something that forms, protects, supports, or strengthens the back of something

4. theatre a scenic cloth or flat placed behind a window, door, etc, in a set to mask the offstage space

5. musical accompaniment, esp for a pop singer

6. the support in gold or precious metals for a country's issue of money in notes

7. meteorol an anticlockwise change in wind direction

8. a passageway running behind a row of terraced houses

Word History and Origins

Origin of backing¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; back ¹ + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Some on the left believe that unconditional support for Israel will incur the same political cost as backing the Iraq War did in 2008.

From Salon

Analysis of who is - and who is not - backing the party, and why, provides us with vital clues.

From BBC

Competition for the Swedish contract is with a French shipbuilding firm, which has the vigorous backing of the French government.

From BBC

The aftermath of that defeat turned sour as hugely popular manager Mauricio Pochettino failed to get the backing he believed he deserved - the fracture with his chairman leading to his sacking six months later.

From BBC

“Could you imagine your 14-year-old daughter having to go through what we had to go through, and then you sit here and say what you said? You should be supporting us. You should backing us.”

From Salon

Related Words

• advocacy 
• aid 
• assistance 
• encouragement 
• endorsement 
• help 
• sponsorship 
• subsidy