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
James Hansen, The Athletic, 24 Nov. 2024
Start warming up your backhand — the world's largest pickleball facility plans to open in Scottsdale in 2026.
—Jessica Boehm, Axios, 9 Oct. 2024
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
Julian McKenzie, The Athletic, 15 Dec. 2024
With every prediction, the rest of the panel was in awe of Chalamet’s specificity in his choices, which is slightly backhanded as Chalamet was invited to the show to make predictions on game-winners.
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 7 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for backhand 
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Noun
Also as against Alcaraz, Griekspoor faded in that tiebreak with two poor backhand errors and the match faded with him.
—James Hansen, The Athletic, 24 Nov. 2024
Start warming up your backhand — the world's largest pickleball facility plans to open in Scottsdale in 2026.
—Jessica Boehm, Axios, 9 Oct. 2024
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
After Penguins forward Michael Bunting backhanded a shot off Ullmark’s pad, former Senator Karlsson tried to bury the puck into an open cage.
—Julian McKenzie, The Athletic, 15 Dec. 2024
With every prediction, the rest of the panel was in awe of Chalamet’s specificity in his choices, which is slightly backhanded as Chalamet was invited to the show to make predictions on game-winners.
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 7 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 22 Dec. 2024.
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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