backstop

1 of 2

noun

back·​stop ˈbak-ˌstäp 

plural backstops

1

: something at the back serving as a stop: such as

a

: a screen or fence for keeping a ball from leaving the field of play

b

: a stop (such as a pawl) that prevents a backward movement (as of a wheel)

2

: a player (such as the catcher) positioned behind the batter

3

: something or someone that provides dependable support or protection against failure or loss

As the cold war heated up, Hoover became the country's backstop against subversion.

—David M. Oshinsky

backstop

2 of 2

verb

backstopped; backstopping; backstops

transitive verb

1

: support, bolster

… will have to find ways to backstop his now struggling efforts.

—Reilly Dowd

2

: to serve as a backstop to

3

: to play the position of goalkeeper for

backstop a hockey team

Synonyms of backstop

Verb

• aid
• assist
• help
• support

Examples of backstop in a Sentence

Noun

The pitch got past the catcher and rolled all the way to the backstop.

kept some gold as a backstop in case the value of the local currency collapsed

Verb

the Nobel-winning geneticist was of course backstopped in his research by a team of highly talented assistants

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Teams getting hit by the loss of their RSN deal have a backstop with the NBA’s revenue sharing system. — Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 9 Oct. 2026

Rally attendee Datosha Williams, an SEIU-UHW member who works in healthcare customer service, said Proposition 40 is a backstop to federal healthcare cuts, which could lead to hospital closures around the state. — Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026

Verb

Central banks were mostly set up initially to backstop banks and eventually began trying to regulate the temperature of economies by tweaking the cost of their funding by moving their overnight interest rates up and down. — Robin Wigglesworth, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2026

Larry Ellison had personally committed to backstop over $40 billion in equity financing for the mega-deal to get Warner to agree to sell itself to Paramount. — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1819, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb

1865, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for backstop

• atop
• backdrop
• bebop
• blacktop
• bookshop
• clatsop
• desktop
• eavesdrop
• estop
• hardtop
• hilltop
• laptop

Kids Definition

backstop

noun

back·​stop

ˈbak-ˌstäp

1

: a screen or fence to keep a ball from leaving the field of play

2

: a baseball catcher