backbit; backbitten; backbiting
: to say mean or spiteful things about a person (such as someone who is not present)
They beguiled the time by backbiting and intriguing against each other in a foolish kind of way.—
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad
backbiter
noun
Examples of backbite in a Sentence
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Return to menu The final season of the award-winning HBO drama about the backbiting Roy family doesn’t hold back.
—Pat Padua, Washington Post, 24 Apr. 2023
Revelations from pretrial discovery had been excruciating for the cable network, exposing a backbiting internal culture that featured employees who regularly doubted the content that aired nightly for millions of viewers.
—Sarah Ellison, Josh Dawsey and Rosalind S. Helderman, The Washington Post, Anchorage Daily News, 20 Apr. 2023
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Pat Padua, Washington Post, 24 Apr. 2023
Revelations from pretrial discovery had been excruciating for the cable network, exposing a backbiting internal culture that featured employees who regularly doubted the content that aired nightly for millions of viewers.
—Sarah Ellison, Josh Dawsey and Rosalind S. Helderman, The Washington Post, Anchorage Daily News, 20 Apr. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Backbite.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/backbite. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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backbite
verb
back·bite
-ˌbīt 
backbit; backbitten; backbiting
: to say mean things about a person who is not present
backbiter
noun
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