[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/backward/)

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# backward

adverb, adjective (backward; adverb also backwards)

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

## Everyday

1. Backward means toward the back, or in the direction behind you. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backward/#m1)
2. Backward means in the opposite order, from end to start. [tree →](https://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://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/backward/#m3)

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

Interpretation: In Sefer Yetzirah, God looks backward and seals the West, which is one of the six directions. Each direction is sealed with a different permutation of God's Name. In the primary 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

- Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a horned snake in the path, that biteth the horse's heels, so that his rider falleth backward. (Torah GEN.49.17, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/B/backward/#x1)
- And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness. (Torah GEN.9.23, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/B/backward/#x2)
- Eighth ; He looked backward, and sealed the West (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/B/backward/#x3)
- The sea saw it, and fled; the Jordan turned backward. (Writings PSA.114.3, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/B/backward/#x4)
- Let them be ashamed and turned backward, all they that hate Zion. (Writings PSA.129.5, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/B/backward/#x5)
- And He smote His adversaries backward; He put upon them a perpetual reproach. (Writings PSA.78.66, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/B/backward/#x6)

### 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.

## On Mova

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