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# backhand

noun (a backhand, backhands); adjective (a backhand shot); verb (backhand — hit with the back of the hand); adverb (play backhand)

«backhand» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A backhand is a shot in tennis, badminton, table tennis or squash, where you hit the ball with your arm across your body and the back of your hand facing the ball. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backhand/#m1)
2. Backhand can describe writing that slopes to the left. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backhand/#m2)
3. To backhand is to hit with the back of the hand. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backhand/#m3)

### In the lessons

In PE and sport lessons pupils learn the forehand (palm towards the ball) and the backhand (back of the hand towards the ball). In everyday life it is mainly a sports word.

### Examples

- She hit a great backhand down the line. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backhand/#x1)
- Practise your backhand against the wall. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backhand/#x2)
- His backhand is weaker than his forehand. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backhand/#x3)
- In table tennis, a backhand is played across your body. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backhand/#x4)
- The coach showed us how to hold the racket for a backhand. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backhand/#x5)
- He caught the frisbee backhand. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backhand/#x6)

### Note

Countable noun: a backhand, backhands. Opposite: forehand. «Backhanded compliment» means praise that is really a hidden insult.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «backhand» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backhand/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«backhand» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/backhand.html) on Mova free.