Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
backyard. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
backyard, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
backyard in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
backyard you have here. The definition of the word
backyard will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
backyard, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
back + yard
Pronunciation
Noun
backyard (plural backyards)
- (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, US) A yard to the rear of a house or similar residence.
- (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, US, colloquial) A person's neighborhood, or an area nearby to a person's usual residence or place of work and where the person is likely to go.
2005, Christopher Kennedy Lawford, Symptoms of withdrawal: a memoir of snapshots and redemption, →ISBN, page 18:The entire beach was my backyard, from the Hiltons' house in the south all the way to Steele Hunter's house in the north.
- (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, US, colloquial) An area nearby to a country or other jurisdiction's legal boundaries, particularly an area in which the country feels it has an interest.
1942, Wilfrid Hardy Callcott, The Caribbean policy of the United States, 1890-1920, page 343:However, the region was in the United States backyard and Britain should look passively on with acquiescence in whatever policy the United States saw fit to pursue about Mexico.
Usage notes
Note that backyard is most often written as a single word, while front yard is always written as two words.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
yard to the rear of a house