back·story | \ ˈbak-ˌstȯr-ē 
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\Definition of backstory
: a story that tells what led up to the main story or plot (as of a film)
Examples of backstory in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web Like Gia, Lexi hasn’t gotten an episode exploring her backstory yet — but Apatow has hinted that her character will also get some screen time.
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Lydia Wang, refinery29.com, "Euphoria’s Season 2 Cast Will Change Things Up A Bit," 3 Dec. 2020 The backstory of how this may have happened is served up in a tale connected to Baltimore’s complicated racial history.
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John-john Williams Iv, baltimoresun.com, "Move over, collards; make room for sauerkraut. Black Marylanders have made the German specialty their own.," 25 Nov. 2020 Part of its draw is the eerie backstory of the old schoolhouse in the Dent section of Green Township.
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Jeff Suess, The Enquirer, "What’s the true story of the ‘haunted’ Dent Schoolhouse?," 23 Oct. 2020 Akerman plays down-on-her-luck Anna, who's recruited into a secret group of cage-fighting women that offers a missing piece of her own backstory.
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Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, "What to stream this weekend: Netflix's holiday 'Jingle Jangle,' 'The Life Ahead' with Sophia Loren," 12 Nov. 2020 Sylix has the same kind of backstory; the only difference is its country of origin.
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Jacek Krywko, Ars Technica, "Definitely not Windows 95: What operating systems keep things running in space?," 2 Oct. 2020 Originally based on events from Fifer’s life, the film pivoted after Brown’s shooting to include his real life trauma as part of Sam’s backstory.
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Darcel Rockett, chicagotribune.com, "Actor Sheldon Brown was shot in Uptown 2 years ago. He was filming ‘Cicada’ 2 months later. Now he’s sharing his take on living with trauma.," 23 Sep. 2020 After learning about Williams's backstory and hearing the contestant sing on America's Got Talent, judge Simon Cowell couldn't help but get emotional.
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Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, "'AGT' Judge Simon Cowell Breaks Down Hearing Archie Williams's Heartbreaking True Story," 29 July 2020 But the true backstory of Lake Lanier, built over an underwater ghost town, is just as interesting.
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Faith Karimi, CNN, "A Georgia lake's dark and deadly history has some people seeing ghosts," 31 Oct. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'backstory.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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The first known use of backstory was in 1982
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