back-to-back

1 of 2

adjective or adverb

1
: facing in opposite directions and often touching
2
: coming one after the other : consecutive

back-to-back

2 of 2

noun

plural back-to-backs
1
British : a house that is connected in a row with other houses on each side and with a similar row of houses behind it
These were where the millworkers dwelt, the worst of them known as back-to-backs because that is how they were built, without intervening space.Geoffrey Moorhouse
2
sports : a sequence of two games scheduled to be played on consecutive days
Miami began to beat elite teams and was bloodlessly efficient in the second half of back-to-backs, winning 11 in a row over a three-month stretch, a sign of a team with toughness.Jack McCallum

Examples of back-to-back in a Sentence

Adjective or adverb the three movies in the series were filmed back-to-back so that the cast members wouldn't age visibly on screen the new governor was soon facing several back-to-back crises
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adjective or adverb
Yet while Barca had suffered back-to-back home defeats to Leganes and Las Palmas, Atleti had won 11 straight regardless of the stadium and also boasted a game in hand. Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 22 Dec. 2024 The Toronto Maple Leafs were fighting an uphill battle on Saturday in the second half of a back-to-back dealing with the sudden absence of Auston Matthews — but those factors don’t account for their chaotic mess of a loss to the New York Islanders. Nick Ashbourne, The Athletic, 22 Dec. 2024 The Knicks face the Wizards twice in three days, with the first game coming on the second leg of a back-to-back. Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 21 Dec. 2024 The year 2024 will certainly be remembered with back-to-back records, a dry monsoon and one of the hottest fall seasons ever recorded. Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 21 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for back-to-back 

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective Or Adverb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1940, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of back-to-back was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near back-to-back

Cite this Entry

“Back-to-back.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/back-to-back. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!