backstop

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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

backstop^¹

/ˈbæk.stɒp/

Where it comes from

From back + stop.

noun backstops · back-stop

An object or a person put in the rear or in the back of something to reinforce, hold, support.
A default arrangement that holds if all else fails. Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar, this morning, said a time-limited backstop would be unacceptable, and has previously promised to vote down the UK’s Brexit withdrawal deal unless it features a satisfactory backstop.
A wall or fence behind home plate.
slang A catcher; the position of catcher. Bench may be the greatest catcher subjectively, but he's not statistically. Statwise, Yogi Berra is the all-time backstop, regardless of which measure you prefer. Berra's Total-Z is one-third of a standard deviation higher than Bench's, and his Core-Z average is a point better.
The player who stands immediately behind the striking base.
dated The longstop.
dated The wicket-keeper.
Something serving to bolster or support a cover story etc. […] to be set up in Indonesia with a phony book and school supplies company established in New York City as a backstop.

verb backstops · backstopping · backstopped · back-stop

transitive To serve as backstop for.
transitive To bolster, support. Russia signalled on Monday it would backstop the European Union's bailout of Cyprus despite anger that the weekend rescue deal would impose heavy losses on uninsured depositors, many of them Russian.

Backstop^²

proper noun

UK A proposed seamless border between Ireland and Northern Ireland in the event of Brexit.

Translations

Every language

noun thing or a person to support

Português	respaldo, batente
Deutsch	Rückhalt, Schutz, Unterstützung, Sicherung, Rettungsschirm, Sicherheitsnetz
Italiano	spalleggiamento, supporto

noun default arrangement

Português	rede de proteção, salvaguarda
Deutsch	Letztsicherung, Notlösung, Auffanglösung
Italiano	garanzia, copertura

noun wall or fence behind home plate

Deutsch	Abfangzaun

verb serve as backstop

Português	salvaguardar

verb support

Deutsch	Rückendeckung geben

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Cite this

MLA

"backstop." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/backstop. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

backstop. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/backstop

Chicago

"backstop." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/backstop.

BibTeX

@misc{backstop_2026,
  title = {backstop},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/backstop},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}