Definition of backhand
1a : a stroke (as in tennis) made with the back of the hand turned in the direction of movement; also : the side on which such strokes are madeb : a catch (as in baseball) made to the side of the body opposite the hand being used
2 : handwriting whose strokes slant downward from left to right
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Examples of backhand in a Sentence
She has a good backhand but a weak forehand.
Recent Examples of backhand from the Web
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On a muggy day at the All England Club, a nervous Cilic dumped a backhand into the net on his first break point in the fourth game, after which Federer took six straight points to set up three break opportunities of his own.
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Myers scored on a beautiful backhand-forehand move against Matej Tomek, who is heading back to the USHL, hopefully to find his mojo after spending most of last season on the University of North Dakota’s bench.
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By aggressively driving his backhand, he's beaten his career-long nemesis three times this year, both a pragmatic and confidence boost.
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Federer made 24 unforced errors with his backhand, which Nadal attacked with high-bouncing lefty forehands.
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But Wawrinka missed a backhand to give away that chance.
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Wawrinka hits a great forehand down the line, and then Murray sails a backhand long.
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Wawrinka took a medical timeout midway through the second set, laying down on the sideline and getting massaged by a trainer, but then played well the rest of the way, using his sweet-swinging one-handed backhand to great effect.
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Many consider the 23-year-old Austrian, with his Nadal-like forehand and heavy, one-handed backhand, the next great clay-court champion.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'backhand.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Illustration of backhand
First Known Use of backhand
1657
backhand
Definition of backhand
: made with a backhand a backhand tennis stroke
First Known Use of backhand
1695
First Known Use of backhand
1767
backhand
Definition of backhand
transitive verb
: to do, hit, or catch backhand
Recent Examples of backhand from the Web
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The Giants scored their first run on an error by second baseman Cesar Hernandez, who tried to backhand a grounder by Brandon Belt that went under his glove.
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On the winning goal, Charlie McAvoy’s shot from the right point was tipped by David Backes and then hit Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson’s skate in front of goaltender Craig Anderson, and Kuraly backhanded it in.
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Benn took the pass on his forecheck, backhanded the puck to himself and roofed it over an outstretched Dell for a 3-0 Stars lead.
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Carter backhanded the rebound of a shot by Doughty for his 24th of the season and 20th goal and 46th point in 46 games against the Islanders.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'backhand.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of backhand
circa 1896
BACKHAND Defined for English Language Learners
backhand
playDefinition of backhand for English Language Learners
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: a way of hitting a ball in tennis and similar games in which the back of the hand holding the racket is turned in the direction of the ball
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: a catch in baseball and similar games that is made on the side of the body that is opposite the hand being used
BACKHAND Defined for Kids
Definition of backhand for Students
1 : a stroke in sports played with a racket that is made with the back of the hand turned in the direction in which the hand is moving
2 : a catch (as in baseball) made with the arm across the body and the palm turned away from the body
Definition of backhand for Students
: with a backhand caught backhand
Learn More about backhand
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See words that rhyme with backhand Spanish Central: Translation of backhand Nglish: Translation of backhand for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about backhand
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