behind
English
Alternative forms
- behine (archaic, AAVE)
Etymology
From Middle English behinde, behinden, from Old English behindan (“on the back side of, behind”), equivalent to be- + hind. Compare Old Saxon bihindan (“behind”, adverb), Middle High German behinter (“behind; back”).
Pronunciation
- (preposition, adverb)
- (noun)
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 159: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value GA is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ˈbiːˌhaɪnd/, /bɪˈhaɪnd/
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 159: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value UK is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /bɪˈhaɪnd/, /bəˈhaɪnd/
Audio: (file) - Hyphenation: be‧hind
Preposition
behind
- At the back of; positioned with something else in front of.
- The car is behind the wall.
- 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
- But then I had the [massive] flintlock by me for protection. ¶ […] The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window […], and a 'bead' could be drawn upon Molly, the dairymaid, kissing the fogger behind the hedge, little dreaming that the deadly tube was levelled at them.
- 2013 July 19, Timothy Garton Ash, “Where Dr Pangloss meets Machiavelli”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 18:
- Hidden behind thickets of acronyms and gorse bushes of detail, a new great game is under way across the globe. Some call it geoeconomics, but it's geopolitics too. The current power play consists of an extraordinary range of countries simultaneously sitting down to negotiate big free trade and investment agreements.
- To the back of. (Can we clean up(+) this sense?)
- After, time- or motion-wise.
- 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island
- About the center, and a good way behind the rest, Silver and I followed - I tethered by my rope […].
- 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island
- responsible for
- Who is behind these terrorist attacks?
- In support of.
- The republicans are fully behind their candidate.
- Left a distance by, in progress or improvement; inferior to.
- I'm ranked sixth in the French class, behind five other pupils.
- (Can we date this quote by Bible and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?), 2 Corinthians xi.5:
- I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles.
- (nonstandard, US, slang) As a result or consequence of
- 2012, DeShawn Dorsey, Longsuffering Through Emotional Wounds, page 40:
- He was like, 'Fuck the police! Fuck you! You know who I am, you gonna quit playing with me, bitch.' I'm like let's go. 'Cause I wasn't trying to go to jail behind that shit.
Synonyms
- (at the back of): in back of, to the rear of.
Antonyms
Translations
at the back of
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to the back of
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after, time- or motion-wise
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responsible for
in support of
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- 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
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Adverb
behind (comparative behinder or more behind, superlative behindest or most behind)
- At the back part; in the rear. (Can we clean up(+) this sense?)
- 1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC:
- I shall not lag behind.
- Toward the back part or rear; backward.
- to look behind
- Overdue, in arrears.
- My employer is two paychecks behind on paying my salary.
- I'm two weeks behind in my schedule.
- Slow; of a watch or clock.
- My watch is four minutes behind.
- existing afterwards
- He left behind a legacy of death and sorrow.
- He stayed behind after the war.
- (Can we date this quote by William Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
- Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, / And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, / Leave not a rack behind.
- Backward in time or order of succession; past.
- (Can we date this quote by Bible and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?), Phil. ii. 13
- forgetting those things which are behind
- (Can we date this quote by Bible and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?), Phil. ii. 13
- Behind the scenes in a theatre; backstage.
- 1890, Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Vintage 2007, page 68:
- ‘After the performance was over I went behind, and spoke to her.’
- 1890, Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Vintage 2007, page 68:
- (archaic) Not yet brought forward, produced, or exhibited to view; out of sight; remaining.
- (Can we date this quote by John Locke and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
- We cannot be sure that there is no evidence behind.
- (Can we date this quote by John Locke and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
Usage notes
For usage in phrasal verbs, see Category:English phrasal verbs with particle (behind).
Translations
at the back part; in the rear
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toward the back part or rear; backward
overdue
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slow; of a watch or clock
existing afterwards
backward in time or order of succession
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behind the scenes
not yet brought forward
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Noun
behind (plural behinds)
- the rear, back-end
- (informal) butt, the buttocks, bottom
- (Australian rules football) A one-point score.
- 1880. "The Opening Ball" in Comic Australian Verse, ed. G. Lehmann, 1975. Quoted in G. A. Wilkes, A Dictionary of Australian Colloquialisms, second edition, 1985, Sydney University Press, →ISBN.
- A roar from ten thousand throats go up,
For we've kicked another behind.
- A roar from ten thousand throats go up,
- 1880. "The Opening Ball" in Comic Australian Verse, ed. G. Lehmann, 1975. Quoted in G. A. Wilkes, A Dictionary of Australian Colloquialisms, second edition, 1985, Sydney University Press, →ISBN.
- (baseball, slang, 1800s) The catcher.
- In the Eton College field game, any of a group of players consisting of two "shorts" (who try to kick the ball over the bully) and a "long" (who defends the goal).
Translations
rear, back-end
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buttocks
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- 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
Derived terms
Terms derived from behind (all parts of speech)
Related terms
References
- “behind”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “behind”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "Spatial particles of orientation", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition, Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms prefixed with be-
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English prepositions
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with usage examples
- Requests for date/Bible
- English nonstandard terms
- American English
- English slang
- English adverbs
- Requests for date/William Shakespeare
- English terms with archaic senses
- Requests for date/John Locke
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English informal terms
- en:Australian rules football
- en:Baseball
- English basic words
- en:Buttocks