backhand

1 of 4

noun

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

Illustration of backhand

• backhand 1a

backhand

2 of 4

adjective

: made with a backhand

a backhand tennis stroke

backhand

3 of 4

adverb

back·​hand ˈbak-ˌhand 

variants or backhanded

ˈbak-ˈhan-dəd 

: with a backhand

backhand

4 of 4

verb

backhanded; backhanding; backhands

transitive verb

: 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

Noun

Angels first baseman Vaughn Grissom made a sliding, backhand stop of Naylor’s potential double-play grounder, but his throw to second sailed into left field for an error, two runs scoring on the play for a 5-2 Seattle lead. — Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026

Winning the biggest tournaments in tennis is usually about coming up with some outrageous forehands and backhand and serves in the biggest moments. — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026

Adjective

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

Larkin had a backhand attempt early in the power play, but otherwise a unit of him, Bertuzzi, Raymond, Seider and David Perron were unable to create much. — Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press, 8 Oct. 2022

Adverb

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

When one last backhand by Nadal found the net, Tiafoe put his hands on his head. — Howard Fendrich, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2022

Verb

From there, Zheng used her lofted forehand and backhand to pin Keys back, taking her toes off the baseline and asking her to either build points over the course of several shots, or take arcing balls on the rise, a decision heavy with risk. — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2026

And lastly, how, despite Newey’s backhanded public comments toward Aston’s new works partner, everyone at Honda simply dusted themselves off and began working on a solution. — Jerry Perez, The Drive, 20 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1657, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

1695, in the meaning defined above

Adverb

1767, in the meaning defined above

Verb

circa 1896, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for backhand

• armband
• bandstand
• baseband
• broadband
• command
• cropland
• demand
• disband
• dreamland
• expand
• farmhand
• farmland

Kids 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