backhand

See also: back-hand

English

Andre Agassi hitting a two-handed backhand

Etymology

From back +‎ hand.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈbækhænd/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

backhand (plural backhands)

2. (tennis and other, racquet sports) A stroke made across the chest from the off-hand side to the racquet hand side; a stroke during which the back of the hand faces the shot.

   Antonym: forehand

   She has a mean backhand.

3. Handwriting that leans to the left.

   It was written in a shaky backhand.

4. (Ultimate Frisbee) The standard throw; a throw during which the disc begins on the off-hand side and travels across the chest to be released from the opposite side.
5. The back of the hand: the reverse side (dorsal side) of the human hand or other primate hand.

   Antonym: palm

7. (surfing) The hand towards the back of the board.

   Antonym: forehand

Translations

stroke in tennis

• Catalan: cop de revés (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 反手 (zh) (fǎnshǒu)

• Dutch: backhand (nl)
• Finnish: rystylyönti (fi)
• French: revers (fr) m
• Hungarian: fonák (hu)
• Icelandic: bakhandarhögg n
• Italian: rovescio (it) m
• Polish: bekhend m
• Russian: please add this translation if you can
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: бе̏кхенд m

  Latin: bȅkhend (sh) m

• Spanish: revés (es) m
• Swedish: backhand (sv) c, backhandslag n
• Ukrainian: бекхе́нд m (bekxénd)

handwriting

• Dutch: linkshellend handschrift
• Icelandic: rithönd sem hallar til vinstri

Verb

backhand (third-person singular simple present backhands, present participle backhanding, simple past and past participle backhanded)

1. To execute a backhand stroke or throw.
2. To slap with the back of one's hand.

   I accidentally backhanded my opponent.

   • 2023 May 23, Alison Green, anonymous quotee, “my coworker got drunk and punched another coworker in the parking lot”, in Ask a Manager‎^[1] (blog), archived from the original on 11 December 2024:

     While Joe is driving, Bob gets upset and wants to go back to set up. Bob and Joe argue for a few seconds. Then, Bob grabs the wheel and nearly causes us to hit a tree. In response, Joe backhands Bob and tells him to immediately stop or he will get us killed. Bob says that he was just trying to get us back on track and that he was joking.

Translations

execute a backhand stroke or throw

• Finnish: tehdä rystylyönti
• Italian: tirare di rovescio
• Swedish: slå en backhand, slå ett backhandslag

slap with the back of one's hand

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Icelandic: ^{(please verify)} slá bakhandarhögg

Adjective

backhand (comparative more backhand, superlative most backhand)

1. (of handwriting) Slanting to the left.
   • 1936, F.J. Thwaites, chapter XIII, in The Redemption, Sydney: H. John Edwards, published 1940, page 135:

     In great confusion, Gordon accepted the letter, broke its small crested seal, and began reading the neat back-hand scrawl.

2. (of strokes or throws) In the backhand style.
3. (ice hockey, of a play) Using the back side of the hockey stick.

   He scored on a backhand shot.

Translations

of any left slanting handwriting

in the backhand style

• Swedish: backhand- (sv)

ice hockey

• Catalan: de revés (ca)
• Swedish: backhand- (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Icelandic: ^{(please verify)} handarbaks-, ^{(please verify)} bakhandar-, ^{(please verify)} bakhandarhöggs-

See also

• backhanded

Anagrams

• handback

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English backhand.

Noun

backhand m (plural backhands)

1. (ultimate frisbee) backhand

Further reading

• “backhand”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English backhand.

Noun

backhand n (plural backhanduri)

1. backhand

Declension

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	backhand	backhandul	backhanduri	backhandurile
genitive-dative	backhand	backhandului	backhanduri	backhandurilor
vocative	backhandule		backhandurilor