backdoor

adjective

back·​door ˈbak-ˈdȯr How to pronounce backdoor (audio)
1
2
: involving or being a play in basketball in which a player moves behind the defense and toward the basket to receive a quick pass
a backdoor layup

Examples of backdoor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Chinese electric vehicles present a backdoor risk for Beijing to gain leverage over rival governments, a new report warns. Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 17 Sep. 2024 Roughly 70 congressional Democrats boycotted the speech, an uptick from the 58 who skipped Netanyahu’s 2015 address lambasting the Iran nuclear deal, the last time Netanyahu accepted a backdoor invitation from a Republican speaker against the wishes of a Democratic president. Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 25 July 2024 The abnormally strong ruble is a signal that backdoor import channels are not working. Konstantin Sonin, Foreign Affairs, 15 Nov. 2022 Faced with few choices, advertisers resorted to backdoor purchases. Sohini Desai, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for backdoor 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'backdoor.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1805, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of backdoor was in 1805

Dictionary Entries Near backdoor

Cite this Entry

“Backdoor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/backdoor. Accessed 16 Oct. 2024.

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