backcast

noun

back·​cast
ˈbak-ˌkast
plural backcasts
1
British, dialectal : a relapse especially during convalescence : reversal
2
fly-fishing : a backward swinging of the lure preceding a forward cast
If there's room for backcasts, a fly rod and weighted streamers will work well.Gerald Almy, Washington Post, 9 Nov. 1979
… a salmon of between 25 and 30 pounds appeared near my fly and, having just begun a backcast, I snatched the fly from him.Nelson Bryant, New York Times, 12 Sept. 1983
Beginning fly-fishers can refine casting and presentation skills along shores of several lakes … where awkward backcasts won't get tangled in willows …Jeff Phillips, Sunset, May 1994
backcast intransitive verb
backcast; backcasting; backcasts
… there was no place to strip my line, let alone backcast, and I retreated to the tent, waiting for light. Peter Matthiessen, Harper's Magazine, 1 June 1993
Standing now, closing in, I waved the bamboo rod like a semaphore—backcasting once, twice—and then threw the line. John McPhee, New Yorker, 8 Feb. 2010

Word History

Etymology

back entry 3 + cast

First Known Use

1816, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of backcast was in 1816

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Dictionary Entries Near backcast

Cite this Entry

“Backcast.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/backcast. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

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