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# backward

«backward» in Mova's school dictionary: **toward the back, or in the direction behind you** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adverb, adjective (backward; adverb also backwards)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Backward means toward the back, or in the direction behind you. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backward/#m1)

2) Backward means in the opposite order, from end to start. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backward/#m2)

3) Backward (adjective) can mean slower to change or grow than others. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backward/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

counting down, moving back, or going in reverse order; on a number line, moving left; phrases «backward and forward», «count backward», «bend over backwards» (try very hard), «know it backwards»

### examples

- Count backward from 20 by 2s. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backward/#x1)
- He took 3 steps backward. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backward/#x2)
- Read the number backward. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backward/#x3)
- The frog jumps 5 feet forward and 2 feet backward. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backward/#x4)
- She can say the alphabet backwards. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backward/#x5)
- Walk backward slowly and carefully. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backward/#x6)
- The video played backward. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backward/#x7)
- Count backward from 10 to 1 for the rocket launch. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backward/#x8)
- He fell backward into the pool. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backward/#x9)
- She bent over backwards to help us. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backward/#x10)
- He moved his head backwards and forwards and flew away. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backward/#x11)

### note

Moving backward takes away from a position. Trap: «backward» in a list means reverse order, not subtraction. In the UK «backwards» is more common as the adverb; «backward» is the adjective. Safety: look behind before you walk backward.

### In the corpora

- [The Mole falls over backwards in delight and praises the Rat's clever step-by-step thinking at great length.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/36-willows-ch3-part4-the-door-scraper/12/)
- [They go and find Jaguar, who is so astonished that he falls backwards over his tail three times.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/83-justso-armadillos-2-the-first-armadillo/6/)
- [Jaguar «fell three times backward over his own painted tail».](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/83-justso-armadillos-2-the-first-armadillo/22/)
- [A palindrome reads the same forwards and backwards, such as mum, dad, Nan, level and noon.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/56-olympiad-word-puzzles-anagrams-palindromes-word-ladders/8/)
- [A girl in Minnesota went roller skating without wrist guards, fell backwards onto her hands and broke both wrists.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/6-skating-and-sports-safety/5/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «backward» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backward/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.