behind

/biˈhaɪnd/
/bɪˈhaɪnd/
IPA guide

Other forms: behinds

When one thing is behind another, it's at the rear or the far side of it, possibly even hidden by it. Your shy dog might tend to stand behind you when you meet a friend on your walk.

When the sun hides behind a cloud, the cloud is in front of it, and when there's fear lurking behind your cheerful smile, the grin is disguising, or covering, your anxiety. Behind can also mean "supporting," as when you're a hundred percent behind your sister's campaign for school president; or "lagging," as when you say: "Slow down! I'm way behind in this race!" Finally, behind is a gentle slang term for "buttocks."

Definitions of behind
  1. adverb
    in or to or toward the rear
    “he followed behind”
    “seen from behind, the house is more imposing than it is from the front”
    “the final runners were far behind”
  2. adverb
    in or into an inferior position
    “fell behind in his studies”
    “their business was lagging behind in the competition for customers”
  3. adverb
    remaining in a place or condition that has been left or departed from
    “when he died he left much unfinished work behind”
    “left a large family behind”
    “the children left their books behind”
    “he took off with a squeal of tires and left the other cars far behind”
  4. adverb
    of timepieces
    “my watch is running behind”
    synonyms: slow
  5. adverb
    in debt
    “he fell behind with his mortgage payments”
    “a month behind in the rent”
    synonyms: behindhand, in arrears
  6. adjective
    having the lower score or lagging position in a contest
    “behind by two points”
    synonyms:
    down
    being or moving lower in position or less in some value
  7. noun
    the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
    synonyms: ass, backside, bottom, bum, buns, butt, buttocks, can, derriere, fanny, fundament, hind end, hindquarters, keister, nates, posterior, prat, rear, rear end, rump, seat, stern, tail, tail end, tooshie, tush
    see moresee less
    type of:
    body part
    any part of an organism such as an organ or extremity
Pronunciation
US
/biˈhaɪnd/
UK
/bɪˈhaɪnd/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘behind'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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