adv. [ Pref. a- + back; AS. on bæc at, on, or toward the back. See Back. ] 1. Toward the back or rear; backward. “Therewith aback she started.” Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Behind; in the rear. Knolles. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Naut.) Backward against the mast; -- said of the sails when pressed by the wind. Totten. [ 1913 Webster ]

To be taken aback. (a) To be driven backward against the mast; -- said of the sails, also of the ship when the sails are thus driven. (b) To be suddenly checked, baffled, or discomfited. Dickens. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An abacus. [ Obs. ] B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ from AA, meaning antiaircraft pronounced ack-ack by British signalmen. ] (Mil.) Artillery designed to shoot upward at airplanes; antiaircraft artillery.
Syn. -- antiaircraft, antiaircraft gun, flak, pompom, pom-pom, ack-ack gun [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. 1. 1 red pear-shaped tropical fruit with poisonous seeds; its flesh is poisonous when unripe or overripe.
Syn. -- akee [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. [ Pref. a- + know; AS. oncnāwan. ] 1. To recognize. [ Obs. ] “You will not be acknown, sir.” B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To acknowledge; to confess. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

To be acknown (often with of or on), to acknowledge; to confess. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

We say of a stubborn body that standeth still in the denying of his fault, This man will not acknowledge his fault, or, He will not be acknown of his fault. Sir T. More. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. acknowledged p. pr. & vb. n. acknowledging ] [ Prob. fr. pref. a- + the verb knowledge. See Knowledge, and cf. Acknow. ] 1. To own or admit the knowledge of; to recognize as a fact or truth; to declare one's belief in; as, to acknowledge the being of a God. [ 1913 Webster ]

I acknowledge my transgressions. Ps. li. 3. [ 1913 Webster ]

For ends generally acknowledged to be good. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To own or recognize in a particular character or relationship; to admit the claims or authority of; to give recognition to. [ 1913 Webster ]

In all thy ways acknowledge Him. Prov. iii. 6. [ 1913 Webster ]

By my soul, I'll ne'er acknowledge thee. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To own with gratitude or as a benefit or an obligation; as, to acknowledge a favor, the receipt of a letter. [ 1913 Webster ]

They his gifts acknowledged none. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To own as genuine; to assent to, as a legal instrument, to give it validity; to avow or admit in legal form; as, to acknowledge a deed. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To avow; proclaim; recognize; own; admit; allow; concede; confess. -- Acknowledge, Recognize. Acknowledge is opposed to keep back, or conceal, and supposes that something had been previously known to us (though perhaps not to others) which we now feel bound to lay open or make public. Thus, a man acknowledges a secret marriage; one who has done wrong acknowledges his fault; and author acknowledges his obligation to those who have aided him; we acknowledge our ignorance. Recognize supposes that we have either forgotten or not had the evidence of a thing distinctly before our minds, but that now we know it (as it were) anew, or receive and admit in on the ground of the evidence it brings. Thus, we recognize a friend after a long absence. We recognize facts, principles, truths, etc., when their evidence is brought up fresh to the mind; as, bad men usually recognize the providence of God in seasons of danger. A foreign minister, consul, or agent, of any kind, is recognized on the ground of his producing satisfactory credentials. See also Confess. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. Capable of being acknowledged. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

pos>adj. Generally accepted or recognized as correct or reasonable. Opposite of unacknowledged. [ Narrower terms: given, granted; unquestionable (vs. questionable) ] Also See: known.
Syn. -- accepted, recognized [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

adv. Confessedly. [ 1913 Webster ]

/mhw>, n. 1. The act of acknowledging; admission; avowal; owning; confession. “An acknowledgment of fault.” Froude. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The act of owning or recognizing in a particular character or relationship; recognition as regards the existence, authority, truth, or genuineness; a statement acknowledging something or someone. [ 1913 Webster +WordNet 1.5 ]

Immediately upon the acknowledgment of the Christian faith, the eunuch was baptized by Philip. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The owning of a benefit received; courteous recognition; the state or quality of being recognized or acknowledged; an expression of thanks. Shak.
Syn. -- recognition [ 1913 Webster +WordNet 1.5 ]

4. Something given or done in return for a favor, message, etc. Smollett. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A declaration or avowal of one's own act, to give it legal validity; as, the acknowledgment of a deed before a proper officer. Also, the certificate of the officer attesting such declaration. [ 1913 Webster ]

Acknowledgment money, in some parts of England, a sum paid by copyhold tenants, on the death of their landlords, as an acknowledgment of their new lords. Cowell. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Confession; concession; recognition; admission; avowal; recognizance. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who acknowledges. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. On horseback. [ 1913 Webster ]

Two suspicious fellows ahorseback. Smollet. [ 1913 Webster ]

A jacket having air-tight cells, or cavities which can be filled with air, to render persons buoyant in swimming. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Slacked, or pulverized, by exposure to the air; as, air-slacked lime. [ 1913 Webster ]

interj. [ Prob. from ah! lack! OE. lak loss, failure, misfortune. See Lack. ] An exclamation expressive of sorrow. [ Archaic. or Poet. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

interj. [ For alack the day. Cf. Lackaday. ] An exclamation expressing sorrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Shakespeare has “alack the day” and “alack the heavy day.” Compare “woe worth the day.” [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. discriminatory against black people; opposed to black people
Syn. -- racist [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. Apple brandy; a brandy distilled from cider. [ U.S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A frame, generally vertical, for holding small arms. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Ar. araq sweat, juice, spirituous liquor, fr. araqa to sweat. Cf. Rack arrack. ] A name in the East Indies and the Indian islands for all ardent spirits. Arrack is often distilled from a fermented mixture of rice, molasses, and palm wine of the cocoanut tree or the date palm, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Attacked p. pr. & vb. n. Attacking. ] [ F. attaquer, orig. another form of attacher to attack: cf. It. attacare to fasten, attack. See Attach, Tack a small nail. ] 1. To fall upon with force; to assail, as with force and arms; to assault. “Attack their lines.” Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To assail with unfriendly speech or writing; to begin a controversy with; to attempt to overthrow or bring into disrepute, by criticism or satire; to censure; as, to attack a man, or his opinions, in a pamphlet. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To set to work upon, as upon a task or problem, or some object of labor or investigation. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To begin to affect; to begin to act upon, injuriously or destructively; to begin to decompose or waste. [ 1913 Webster ]

On the fourth of March he was attacked by fever. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

Hydrofluoric acid . . . attacks the glass. B. Stewart. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To Attack, Assail, Assault, Invade. These words all denote a violent onset; attack being the generic term, and the others specific forms of attack. To attack is to commence the onset; to assail is to make a sudden and violent attack, or to make repeated attacks; to assault (literally, to leap upon) is to attack physically by a had-to-hand approach or by unlawful and insulting violence; to invade is to enter by force on what belongs to another. Thus, a person may attack by offering violence of any kind; he may assail by means of missile weapons; he may assault by direct personal violence; a king may invade by marching an army into a country. Figuratively, we may say, men attack with argument or satire; they assail with abuse or reproaches; they may be assaulted by severe temptations; the rights of the people may be invaded by the encroachments of the crown. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To make an onset or attack. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. attaque. ] 1. The act of attacking, or falling on with force or violence; an onset; an assault; -- opposed to defense. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An assault upon one's feelings or reputation with unfriendly or bitter words. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A setting to work upon some task, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. An access of disease; a fit of sickness. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. The beginning of corrosive, decomposing, or destructive action, by a chemical agent. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being attacked. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. affected by disease.
Syn. -- infected. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. One who attacks. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. bac: cf. Arm. bag, bak a bark, D. bak tray, bowl. ] 1. A large shallow vat; a cistern, tub, or trough, used by brewers, distillers, dyers, picklers, gluemakers, and others, for mixing or cooling wort, holding water, hot glue, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

Hop back,
Jack back, the cistern which receives the infusion of malt and hops from the copper. --
Wash back, a vat in which distillers ferment the wort to form wash. --
Water back, a cistern to hold a supply of water; esp. a small cistern at the back of a stove, or a group of pipes set in the fire box of a stove or furnace, through which water circulates and is heated. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A ferryboat. See Bac, 1. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. bæc, bac; akin to Icel., Sw., & LG. bak, Dan. bag; cf. OHG. bahho ham, Skr. bhaj to turn, OSlav. bēgŭ flight. Cf. Bacon. ] 1. In human beings, the hinder part of the body, extending from the neck to the end of the spine; in other animals, that part of the body which corresponds most nearly to such part of a human being; as, the back of a horse, fish, or lobster. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An extended upper part, as of a mountain or ridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ The mountains ] their broad bare backs upheave
Into the clouds. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The outward or upper part of a thing, as opposed to the inner or lower part; as, the back of the hand, the back of the foot, the back of a hand rail. [ 1913 Webster ]

Methought Love pitying me, when he saw this,
Gave me your hands, the backs and palms to kiss. Donne. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The part opposed to the front; the hinder or rear part of a thing; as, the back of a book; the back of an army; the back of a chimney. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. The part opposite to, or most remote from, that which fronts the speaker or actor; or the part out of sight, or not generally seen; as, the back of an island, of a hill, or of a village. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. The part of a cutting tool on the opposite side from its edge; as, the back of a knife, or of a saw. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. A support or resource in reserve. [ 1913 Webster ]

This project
Should have a back or second, that might hold,
If this should blast in proof. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. (Naut.) The keel and keelson of a ship. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. (Mining) The upper part of a lode, or the roof of a horizontal underground passage. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. A garment for the back; hence, clothing. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

A bak to walken inne by daylight. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Behind one's back, when one is absent; without one's knowledge; as, to ridicule a person behind his back. --
Full back,
Half back,
Quarter back (Football), players stationed behind those in the front line. --
To be on one's back or
To lie on one's back, to be helpless. --
To put one's back up or
to get one's back up, to assume an attitude of obstinate resistance (from the action of a cat when attacked). [ Colloq. ] --
To see the back of, to get rid of. --
To turn the back, to go away; to flee. --
To turn the back on one, to forsake or neglect him. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Being at the back or in the rear; distant; remote; as, the back door; back settlements. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Being in arrear; overdue; as, back rent. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Moving or operating backward; as, back action. [ 1913 Webster ]

Back blocks, Australian pastoral country which is remote from the seacoast or from a river. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ] --
Back charges, charges brought forward after an account has been made up. --
Back filling (Arch.), the mass of materials used in filling up the space between two walls, or between the inner and outer faces of a wall, or upon the haunches of an arch or vault. --
Back pressure. (Steam Engine) See under Pressure. --
Back rest, a guide attached to the slide rest of a lathe, and placed in contact with the work, to steady it in turning. --
Back slang, a kind of slang in which every word is written or pronounced backwards; as, nam for man. --
Back stairs, stairs in the back part of a house; private stairs. Also used adjectively. See Back stairs, Backstairs, and Backstair, in the Vocabulary. --
Back step (Mil.), the retrograde movement of a man or body of men, without changing front. --
Back stream, a current running against the main current of a stream; an eddy. --
To take the back track, to retrace one's steps; to retreat. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Backed p. pr. & vb. n. Backing. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To get upon the back of; to mount. [ 1913 Webster ]

I will back him [ a horse ] straight. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To place or seat upon the back. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Great Jupiter, upon his eagle backed,
Appeared to me. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To drive or force backward; to cause to retreat or recede; as, to back oxen. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To make a back for; to furnish with a back; as, to back books. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To adjoin behind; to be at the back of. [ 1913 Webster ]

A garden . . . with a vineyard backed. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The chalk cliffs which back the beach. Huxley. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To write upon the back of; as, to back a letter; to indorse; as, to back a note or legal document. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. To support; to maintain; to second or strengthen by aid or influence; as, to back a friend. “The Parliament would be backed by the people.” Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

Have still found it necessary to back and fortify their laws with rewards and punishments. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

The mate backed the captain manfully. Blackw. Mag. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. To bet on the success of; -- as, to back a race horse. [ 1913 Webster ]

To back an anchor (Naut.), to lay down a small anchor ahead of a large one, the cable of the small one being fastened to the crown of the large one. --
To back the field, in horse racing, to bet against a particular horse or horses, that some one of all the other horses, collectively designated “the field”, will win. --
To back the oars, to row backward with the oars. --
To back a rope, to put on a preventer. --
To back the sails, to arrange them so as to cause the ship to move astern. --
To back up, to support; to sustain; as, to back up one's friends. --
To back a warrant (Law), is for a justice of the peace, in the county where the warrant is to be executed, to sign or indorse a warrant, issued in another county, to apprehend an offender. --
To back water (Naut.), to reverse the action of the oars, paddles, or propeller, so as to force the boat or ship backward. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To move or go backward; as, the horse refuses to back. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Naut.) To change from one quarter to another by a course opposite to that of the sun; -- used of the wind. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Sporting) To stand still behind another dog which has pointed; -- said of a dog. [ Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

To back and fill, to manage the sails of a ship so that the wind strikes them alternately in front and behind, in order to keep the ship in the middle of a river or channel while the current or tide carries the vessel against the wind. Hence: (Fig.) To take opposite positions alternately; to assert and deny. [ Colloq. ] --
To back out,
To back down, to retreat or withdraw from a promise, engagement, or contest; to recede. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Cleon at first . . . was willing to go; but, finding that he [ Nicias ] was in earnest, he tried to back out. Jowett (Thucyd. ) [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. [ Shortened from aback. ] 1. In, to, or toward, the rear; as, to stand back; to step back. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To the place from which one came; to the place or person from which something is taken or derived; as, to go back for something left behind; to go back to one's native place; to put a book back after reading it. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To a former state, condition, or station; as, to go back to private life; to go back to barbarism. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Of time) In times past; ago. “Sixty or seventy years back.” Gladstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Away from contact; by reverse movement. [ 1913 Webster ]

The angel of the Lord . . . came, and rolled back the stone from the door. Matt. xxviii. 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. In concealment or reserve; in one's own possession; as, to keep back the truth; to keep back part of the money due to another. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. In a state of restraint or hindrance. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Lord hath kept thee back from honor. Numb. xxiv. 11. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. In return, repayment, or requital. [ 1913 Webster ]

What have I to give you back? Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. In withdrawal from a statement, promise, or undertaking; as, he took back the offensive words. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. In arrear; as, to be back in one's rent. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Back and forth, backwards and forwards; to and fro. --
To go back on, to turn back from; to abandon; to betray; as, to go back on a friend; to go back on one's professions. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. an ache localized in the back. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a discussion; give-and-take. [ PJC ]

n. See Bacharach. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. A kind of wine made at Bacharach on the Rhine. [ 1913 Webster ]

interj. Same as Baccare. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } interj. Stand back! give place! -- a cant word of the Elizabethan writers, probably in ridicule of some person who pretended to a knowledge of Latin which he did not possess. [ 1913 Webster ]

Baccare! you are marvelous forward. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ 2nd back, n. + band. ] (Saddlery) The band which passes over the back of a horse and holds up the shafts of a carriage. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. any of the seats occupied by backbenchers in the House of Commons of Great Britain. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a member of the House of Commons of Great Britain who is not a party leader. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. an acrobatic feat in which the trunk is bent backward from a standing position until the hands touch the floor. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. [ 2d back, n. + bite. ] To wound by clandestine detraction; to censure meanly or spitefully (an absent person); to slander or speak evil of (one absent). Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To censure or revile the absent. [ 1913 Webster ]

They are arrant knaves, and will backbite. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who backbites; a secret calumniator or detractor. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Secret slander; detraction. [ 1913 Webster ]

Backbiting, and bearing of false witness. Piers Plowman. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ 2d back, n. + board. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A board which supports the back when one is sitting; specifically, the board athwart the after part of a boat. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A board serving as the back part of anything, as of a wagon. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A thin stuff used for the backs of framed pictures, mirrors, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A board attached to the rim of a water wheel to prevent the water from running off the floats or paddles into the interior of the wheel. W. Nicholson. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A board worn across the back to give erectness to the figure. Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Back, adv. + bond. ] (Scots Law) An instrument which, in conjunction with another making an absolute disposition, constitutes a trust. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ 2d back, n. + bone. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. The column of bones in the back which sustains and gives firmness to the frame; the spine; the vertebral or spinal column. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Anything like , or serving the purpose of, a backbone. [ 1913 Webster ]

The lofty mountains on the north side compose the granitic axis, or backbone of the country. Darwin. [ 1913 Webster ]

We have now come to the backbone of our subject. Earle. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Firmness; moral principle; steadfastness. [ 1913 Webster ]

Shelley's thought never had any backbone. Shairp. [ 1913 Webster ]

To the backbone, through and through; thoroughly; entirely. “Staunch to the backbone.” Lord Lytton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Vertebrate. [ 1913 Webster ]