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variants:
or less commonly backwards compatible
Definition of backward compatible
: compatible with older equipment or previous versions of software
Dolby Digital is backward compatible and supports earlier versions of Dolby such as Pro Logic. — Consumer Reports
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Examples of backward compatible in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web Spencer recommits that the Series X will be backward compatible with Xbox One accessories and software, along with Xbox One compatible 360 and original Xbox games.
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Gene Park, Washington Post, "Smart Delivery for the Xbox Series X will make consoles more like iPhones. That’s a good thing.," 24 Feb. 2020 Both standards are also backward compatible, falling back to the oldest revision used in a connection.
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Jon L. Jacobi, PCWorld, "HDMI vs. DisplayPort: Which display interface reigns supreme?," 13 Nov. 2019 Spencer also said the next-gen console will be backward compatible with all previous generations of Xbox.
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Channing King, Indianapolis Star, "From 'Cyberpunk 2077' to 'Final Fantasy VII,' here are the big video games of E3 2019," 13 June 2019 Most of the Xbox 360 games are backward compatible, and some are even enhanced for the latest Xbox One X hardware.
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Tom Warren, The Verge, "Microsoft’s Xbox Black Friday deals include up to 75 percent off 500 games," 15 Nov. 2018 Naturally, both of these consoles will fully support existing backward compatible Xbox and Xbox 360 games, and of course Xbox One titles.
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Tom Warren, The Verge, "Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox is codenamed Anaconda," 18 Dec. 2018 With individual power switches for port-by-port control and transfer speeds up to 5Gbps per port, these hubs all feature USB 3.0 ports that are backward compatible with USB 2.0 and 1.1.
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Alexandria Haslam, PCWorld, "Amazon's awesome Sabrent sale will add up to 10 USB ports to your PC or Mac for cheap," 25 Sep. 2018
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'backward compatible.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Time Traveler for backward compatible
The first known use of backward compatible was in 1975
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