back of

preposition

US, informal

: behind

… stood leaning against a parked car out back of the building …

—Peter Goldman et al.

They now sit … just two games back of the Yankees in the wild card race.

—Steve Buckley

Synonyms of back of

• in back of
• behind

Examples of back of in a Sentence

the equipment shed is a concrete structure back of the school

Recent Examples on the Web

Paul scored the game’s only goal in the 48th minute with her deflected shot finding the back of the net. — ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026

After a surge in power applications, Denmark passed an emergency law that could see data centers at the back of the queue for grid power applications. — April Roach,jenny Lee, CNBC, 3 Oct. 2026

Parker’s hair was gathered into an enormous, layered, fishtail braid that starts high on the back of her head with a bow, its ends interlaced intermittently with the incredibly thick folds of the plaits. — Marci Robin, Allure, 2 Oct. 2026

The next slide shows Sweeney water-skiing with just one ski off the back of a boat. — Janelle Ash, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1694, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for back of

• above
• foxglove
• hereof
• thereof
• whereof
• dove
• glove
• love
• shove
• hereinabove

Kids Definition

back of

preposition

informal

: behind entry 2 sense 1

out back of the barn