backroom

1 of 2

adjective

back·​room ˈbak-ˈrüm How to pronounce backroom (audio)
-ˈru̇m
variants or back-room
: made or operating in an inconspicuous way : behind-the-scenes
backroom deals
a backroom politician

back room

2 of 2

noun

1
: a room situated in the rear
2
: the meeting place of a directing group that exercises its authority in an inconspicuous and indirect way

Examples of backroom in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Pascal Planque, Mike Stowell and new first team coach Adam Sadler complete the new-look Foxes backroom staff for the upcoming season. SI.com, 1 July 2018 After five months of backroom horse-trading and all-night arm twisting, Angela Merkel faces one last obstacle to achieving a stable government in her fourth term as German chancellor. Griff Witte, Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2018
Noun
The running back room is loaded, any one of those guys can play. Matt Stahl | Mstahl@al.com, al, 19 Sep. 2023 The table, this time, is decent—almost all of them are, outside the back room and that little island by the bathroom entrance—though not nearly as good as the curved booths, which anchor the room, thrones for the very V.I.P.s, or perhaps the very lucky. Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 10 Sep. 2023 The teller then locked themselves in a back room and Bell fled the scene on foot without getting any money. Adam Sabes, Fox News, 1 Sep. 2023 The manager, a woman with yellow hair tied back in a ponytail, takes me into the back room to explain the company ethos and the role. Hazlitt, 30 Aug. 2023 Depth in the running back room should be a Terps strength this fall featuring Antwain Littleton II, Colby McDonald and Ramon Brown in line behind Hemby. Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 2 Aug. 2023 Always Iowa first, then New Hampshire — which zealously guarded its status as the first-in-the-nation actual primary, luring all future presidents to the rickety diner back rooms and high school gymnasiums of the flinty Northern state with a streak of independence. Ross Barkan, New York Times, 5 July 2023 The singer, songwriter, producer and Maroon 5 keyboard player is sitting in a back room at Preservation Hall, the New Orleans jazz landmark. Rebecca Milzoff, Billboard, 9 June 2023 The parents, 20 or so years ago, lived through a moment of intense national scandal: a seduction in the back room of a pet store. Joshua Rothkopf, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'backroom.' 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

Adjective

1911, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1592, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of backroom was in 1592

Dictionary Entries Near backroom

Cite this Entry

“Backroom.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/backroom. Accessed 30 Sep. 2023.

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