Illustration of backhand
- backhand 1a
back·hand
ˈbak-ˌhand 
1
a
: 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 made
b
: 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
: made with a backhand
a backhand tennis stroke
backhanded; backhanding; backhands
: to do, hit, or catch backhand
Examples of backhand in a Sentence
Noun
She has a good backhand but a weak forehand.
Recent Examples on the Web
Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Immediately after the Sharks killed his elbowing penalty, Barclay Goodrow came out of the box, retrieved a puck that had been cleared out of the San Jose zone, and found Cardwell, whose backhand shot from in close went off the post before Schmid covered the puck.
—Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2025
Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 21 Jan. 2023
The Winterhawks don’t get back as a give-and-go between Korchinski and Schaefer in the neutral zone creates a 2-on-1, and Korchinski quickly makes a backhand feed to Crnkovic in front.
—Dylan Bumbarger, oregonlive, 26 Nov. 2022
Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Dec. 2022
But daughter Christy Childers says her mom still rules at table tennis with a killer backhand.
—Sarah Matusek, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 Oct. 2022
Dan Arritt, Oc Register, 21 Sep. 2025
Tatis at it again The Reds would have had four homers if not for Tatis running back 76 feet, slowing only slightly and adjusting his course a bit before leaping to backhand Tyler Stephenson’s 379-foot drive to right field.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for backhand
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Noun
Serving for the match at 5-4, an absurd crosscourt backhand flick took Alcaraz to 15-0.
—Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Immediately after the Sharks killed his elbowing penalty, Barclay Goodrow came out of the box, retrieved a puck that had been cleared out of the San Jose zone, and found Cardwell, whose backhand shot from in close went off the post before Schmid covered the puck.
—Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2025
Adjective
Dalton, who has four game-winning goals this season, beat Quinnipiac goalie Logan Angers with a backhand shot 11:42, then Emma Seitz scores from point-blank range from in front of the right circle at 16:21.
—Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 21 Jan. 2023
The Winterhawks don’t get back as a give-and-go between Korchinski and Schaefer in the neutral zone creates a 2-on-1, and Korchinski quickly makes a backhand feed to Crnkovic in front.
—Dylan Bumbarger, oregonlive, 26 Nov. 2022
Adverb
Swayman stopped 30 of 32 in his first outing since Dec. 9, fooled by a Boone Jenner backhand and overmatched by a Patrik Laine one-timer.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Dec. 2022
But daughter Christy Childers says her mom still rules at table tennis with a killer backhand.
—Sarah Matusek, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 Oct. 2022
Verb
Troy Tulowitzki pulled a two-hopper down the line that Rojas backhanded near the outfield grass and his long throw across the diamond got Tulowitzki by two steps for the second out of the inning.
—Dan Arritt, Oc Register, 21 Sep. 2025
Tatis at it again The Reds would have had four homers if not for Tatis running back 76 feet, slowing only slightly and adjusting his course a bit before leaping to backhand Tyler Stephenson’s 379-foot drive to right field.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for backhand
Cite this Entry
“Backhand.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/backhand. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
backhand
1 of 4 noun
back·hand
-ˌhand
1
a
: a stroke (as in tennis) made with the back of the hand turned in the direction of movement
b
: a catch made with the arm across the body and the palm turned away from the body
2
: handwriting in which the letters slant to the left
backhand
2 of 4 adjective
: using or made with a backhand
backhand
3 of 4 verb
: to do, hit, or catch with a backhand
backhand
4 of 4 adverb
variants
or backhanded
ˈbak-ˈhan-dəd
: with a backhand
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