Illustration of backhand
- backhand 1a
back·hand
ˈbak-ˌhand 
1
a
: a stroke (as in tennis) made with the back of the hand turned in the direction of movement
also
: the side on which such strokes are made
b
: a catch (as in baseball) made to the side of the body opposite the hand being used
2
: handwriting whose strokes slant downward from left to right
: made with a backhand
a backhand tennis stroke
backhanded; backhanding; backhands
: to do, hit, or catch backhand
Examples of backhand in a Sentence
Noun
She has a good backhand but a weak forehand.
Recent Examples on the Web
Scott Powers, The Athletic, 14 Jan. 2025
By Matt Craig, Forbes Staff The most valuable moments in a tennis match, from a sponsor’s perspective, are not the acrobatic sliding backhands, breathtaking drop shots or leaping overhead smashes.
—Matt Craig, Forbes, 12 Jan. 2025
Dylan Bumbarger, oregonlive, 26 Nov. 2022
Dalton, who has four game-winning goals this season, beat Quinnipiac goalie Logan Angers with a backhand shot 11:42, then Emma Seitz scores from point-blank range from in front of the right circle at 16:21.
—Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 21 Jan. 2023
Dallas News, 30 Jan. 2022
When one last backhand by Nadal found the net, Tiafoe put his hands on his head.
—Howard Fendrich, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2022
Tim Ellis, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
In the acclaimed third season, which won this year’s Emmy for outstanding comedy series, the two comedians find themselves on fairly equal footing, resulting in an abundance of verbal sparring and backhanded high jinks that will be hard to top when the show returns for season four.
—Elaina Patton, NBC News, 27 Dec. 2024
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Noun
His careless blind backhand pass in the neutral zone on a Blackhawks power play was intercepted and the Calgary Flames went down the ice to score their fifth goal of the game — and the fourth Jones was on for Monday night.
—Scott Powers, The Athletic, 14 Jan. 2025
By Matt Craig, Forbes Staff The most valuable moments in a tennis match, from a sponsor’s perspective, are not the acrobatic sliding backhands, breathtaking drop shots or leaping overhead smashes.
—Matt Craig, Forbes, 12 Jan. 2025
Adjective
The Winterhawks don’t get back as a give-and-go between Korchinski and Schaefer in the neutral zone creates a 2-on-1, and Korchinski quickly makes a backhand feed to Crnkovic in front.
—Dylan Bumbarger, oregonlive, 26 Nov. 2022
Dalton, who has four game-winning goals this season, beat Quinnipiac goalie Logan Angers with a backhand shot 11:42, then Emma Seitz scores from point-blank range from in front of the right circle at 16:21.
—Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 21 Jan. 2023
Adverb
Radulov showed backhand before pulling it to his forehand and slipping the puck past Linus Ullmark.
—Dallas News, 30 Jan. 2022
When one last backhand by Nadal found the net, Tiafoe put his hands on his head.
—Howard Fendrich, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2022
Verb
The 23-year-old American will test out any service issues with her inside-out forehand and backhand down the line.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
In the acclaimed third season, which won this year’s Emmy for outstanding comedy series, the two comedians find themselves on fairly equal footing, resulting in an abundance of verbal sparring and backhanded high jinks that will be hard to top when the show returns for season four.
—Elaina Patton, NBC News, 27 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for backhand
Dictionary Entries Near backhand
Cite this Entry
“Backhand.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/backhand. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
backhand
1 of 4 noun
back·hand
-ˌhand
1
a
: a stroke (as in tennis) made with the back of the hand turned in the direction of movement
b
: a catch made with the arm across the body and the palm turned away from the body
2
: handwriting in which the letters slant to the left
backhand
2 of 4 adjective
: using or made with a backhand
backhand
3 of 4 verb
: to do, hit, or catch with a backhand
backhand
4 of 4 adverb
variants
or backhanded
ˈbak-ˈhan-dəd
: with a backhand
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