Alternative forms

• ahind (dialect)
• behine (archaic, African-American Vernacular)

Etymology

From Middle EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Middle English#BEHINDCategory:English terms derived from Middle English#BEHIND behinde, behinden, from Old EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Old English#BEHINDCategory:English terms derived from Old English#BEHIND behindan (“on the back side of, behind”), from Proto-West GermanicCategory:English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic#BEHINDCategory:English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic#BEHIND *bihindan, *bihindini (“on the back side of, in the rear of, behind”), from Proto-West GermanicCategory:English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic#BEHIND *bi- + *hindō (“the hind side, back part”), equivalent to be- +‎ hindCategory:English terms prefixed with be-#HIND. Compare Old Saxon bihindan (“behind”, adverb), Middle High German behinter (“behind; back”).

Pronunciation

• (preposition, adverb, noun)
  • IPA^(key): /bɪˈhaɪnd/, /bəˈhaɪnd/Category:English 2-syllable words#BEHINDCategory:English 2-syllable words#BEHINDCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#BEHIND
  • (Local Dublin) IPA^(key): /beˈhəɪn/, /beˈhoɪn/, /beˈhaɪn/Category:English 3-syllable words#BEHINDCategory:English 2-syllable words#BEHINDCategory:English 2-syllable words#BEHINDCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#BEHIND

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

    Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#BEHIND

  • Audio (UK):

    (file)

    Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#BEHIND
  • (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈbiːˌhaɪnd/, /bɪˈhaɪnd/Category:English 2-syllable words#BEHINDCategory:English 2-syllable words#BEHINDCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#BEHIND
  • (UK) IPA^(key): /bɪˈhaɪnd/, /bəˈhaɪnd/Category:English 2-syllable words#BEHINDCategory:English 2-syllable words#BEHINDCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#BEHIND
• Hyphenation: be‧hind
• Rhymes: -aɪndCategory:Rhymes:English/aɪnd#BEHINDCategory:Rhymes:English/aɪnd/2 syllables#BEHIND

Preposition

behindCategory:English lemmas#BEHINDCategory:English prepositions#BEHINDCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#BEHINDCategory:Pages with entries#BEHINDCategory:Pages with 1 entry#BEHIND

1. At or to the back or far side of.

   Antonym: in front of

   The children were hiding behind the wall.Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

   Behind the garage needs clearing asap.Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

   The sun went behind the clouds.Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

   Look behind you!Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

   I hide behind you in hide and seek.Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

   • 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:

     But then I had the [massive] flintlock by me for protection.
     […] The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window […], and a 'bead' could be drawn upon Molly, the dairymaid, kissing the fogger behind the hedge, little dreaming that the deadly tube was levelled at them.

     Category:English terms with quotations#BEHIND

   • 2013 July 19, Timothy Garton Ash, “Where Dr Pangloss meets Machiavelli”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 18:

     Hidden behind thickets of acronyms and gorse bushes of detail, a new great game is under way across the globe. Some call it geoeconomics, but it's geopolitics too. The current power play consists of an extraordinary range of countries simultaneously sitting down to negotiate big free trade and investment agreements.

     Category:English terms with quotations#BEHIND

   Synonyms: (US) in back of, to the rear of, (Chester) a-back

   Antonym: in front of

   1. (figuratively) Concealed by (something serving as a facade or disguise).

      Behind the smile was a cruel intention.Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

   2. (figuratively) In the past, from the viewpoint of.

      All my problems are behind me.Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

2. Less forward or advanced than; after.

   Antonym: ahead of

   1. After in physical progress or distance.

      Smith finished the race a lap behind the others.

      • 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island:

        About the center, and a good way behind the rest, Silver and I followed — I tethered by my rope […].

        Category:English terms with quotations#BEHIND

   2. After in developmental progress, score, grade, etc.; inferior to.

      I'm ranked sixth in the French class, behind five other pupils.Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

      In the cricket match, England are 120 runs behind India.Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

      • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Corinthians 11:5:

        For I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles.

        Category:English terms with quotations#BEHIND

   3. After in time.

      London is nine hours behind Tokyo.

3. Responsible for, being the creator or controller of.

   Who is behind these terrorist attacks?Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

   Mr Jones was the man behind the redevelopment plan.Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

   • 2023, Ian Miller, OutKick‎:

     Bud Light replaces Marketing VP behind Dylan Mulvaney partnership.

     Category:English terms with quotations#BEHIND

     Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned
4. Underlying, being the reason for or explanation of.

   What is behind this unexpected decision?Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

5. In support of.

   The republicans are fully behind their candidate.Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

6. (sometimes regarded as nonstandardCategory:English nonstandard terms#BEHIND, USCategory:American English#BEHIND, informalCategory:English informal terms#BEHIND) Following, subsequent to; as a result or consequence of; because of.
   • 2012, DeShawn Dorsey, Longsuffering Through Emotional Wounds, page 40:

     He was like, 'Fuck the police! Fuck you! You know who I am, you gonna quit playing with me, bitch.' I'm like let's go. 'Cause I wasn't trying to go to jail behind that shit.

     Category:English terms with quotations#BEHIND

Adverb

behind (comparative more behind or (rare or nonstandard) behinder, superlative most behind or (rare or nonstandard) behindest)Category:English lemmas#BEHINDCategory:English adverbs#BEHINDCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#BEHINDCategory:Pages with entries#BEHINDCategory:Pages with 1 entry#BEHIND

1. At or in the rear or back part of something.

   The water flows out through the pipe, and the sediment collects behind.Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

2. In a rearward direction.

   We ran and ran, without once looking behind.Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

3. So as to come after someone or something in position, distance, advancement, ranking, time, etc.

   The slower runners were left a long way behind.Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

   In the cricket match, England finished a long way behind.Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

   The worst thing about autumn is that winter follows behind.Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     I shall not lag behind.

     Category:English terms with quotations#BEHIND

4. So as to be still in place after someone or something has departed or ceased to exist.

   I couldn't be bothered to carry the ironing board, so I left it behind.Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

   He stayed behind after the war.Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

   He left behind a legacy of death and sorrow.Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

   The island was inundated by the sea, leaving not a trace behind.Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

   • 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:

     Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,
     And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, / Leave not a rack behind.

     Category:English terms with quotations#BEHIND

5. Backward in time or order of succession; past.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Philippians 3:13:

     […] forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before

     Category:English terms with quotations#BEHIND

6. Behind the scenes in a theatre; backstage.
   • 1890, Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Vintage, published 2007, page 68:

     ‘After the performance was over I went behind, and spoke to her.’

     Category:English terms with quotations#BEHIND

7. (archaicCategory:English terms with archaic senses#BEHIND) Not yet brought forward, produced, or exhibited to view; out of sight; remaining.
   • 1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], chapter 4, in An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], →OCLC, book I, page 16:

     We cannot be sure that there is no evidence behind.

     Category:English terms with quotations#BEHIND

Adjective

behind (comparative more behind or (rare or nonstandard) behinder, superlative most behind or (rare or nonstandard) behindest)Category:English lemmas#BEHINDCategory:English adjectives#BEHINDCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#BEHINDCategory:Pages with entries#BEHINDCategory:Pages with 1 entry#BEHIND

1. Not advanced to the required or expected degree; overdue or in arrears.

   I'm very behind in my schedule.Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

   My employer is two paychecks behind on paying my salary.Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

2. (of a watch or clock) Slow.

   My watch is behind by four minutes.Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

Noun

behind (plural behinds)Category:English lemmas#BEHINDCategory:English nouns#BEHINDCategory:English countable nouns#BEHINDCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#BEHINDCategory:Pages with entries#BEHINDCategory:Pages with 1 entry#BEHIND

1. The rear, back-end.

   This part fits under the behind of the vehicle.Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

   She sneaked up on me from behind.Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

2. (informalCategory:English informal terms#BEHIND) The buttocks, bottom, butt.

   I was stung on the behind by a wasp.Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

   • 1949 May, Albert Maltz, chapter VII, in The Journey of Simon McKeever‎, 1st edition (Fiction), Boston: Little, Brown and Company, →OCLC, page 101:

     There was a girl in the mattress factory with me during the war, girl about thirty. A big one, kind of a fat face, big behind to her, big titties, kind of a girl should be human and soft with a man.

     Category:English terms with quotations#BEHIND

   • 2010, Mary Roach, “One Furry Step for Mankind: The Strange Careers of Ham and Enos”, in Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void, W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN, page 158:

     "So the catheter didn't have anything to do with keeping him from touching himself?" I don't usually go in for euphemisms, but Fineg is a man who says "behind", as in "I have a picture where he bit me in the behind." The catheter, it turns out, was in the chimp's femoral artery (to monitor blood pressure), not his urethra.

     Category:English terms with quotations#BEHIND

   • 2011 December 12, Alyssa Newcomb, “Sit, Stay, Aim, Fire. Dog Shoots Another Hunter”, in ABC News‎, archived from the original on 25 October 2021:

     "The dog got excited, was jumping around inside the boat and then it jumped on the gun. It went off, shooting the [decoy setter] in the buttocks," Box Elder County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Kevin Potter told the Salt Lake Tribune. Twenty-seven rounds of birdshot were removed from the man's behind after the accident.

     Category:English terms with quotations#BEHIND

3. (euphemisticCategory:English euphemisms#BEHIND) Synonym of ass (“synecdochic: a person or their body”).

   Get your lazy behind out of bed!Category:English terms with usage examples#BEHIND

4. (Australian rules footballCategory:en:Australian rules football#BEHIND) A one-point score.
   • 1880, “The Opening Ball”, in G. Lehmann, editor, Comic Australian Verse, 1975, quoted in G. A. Wilkes, A Dictionary of Australian Colloquialisms, second edition, Sydney University Press, published 1985, →ISBN:

     A roar from ten thousand throats go up,
     For we've kicked another behind.

     Category:English terms with quotations#BEHIND

5. (baseballCategory:en:Baseball#BEHIND, slangCategory:English slang#BEHIND, 1800s) The catcher.
6. In the Eton College field game, any of a group of players consisting of two "shorts" (who try to kick the ball over the bully) and a "long" (who defends the goal).

Related terms

• hind
• hiney

References

• “behind”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “behind”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "Spatial particles of orientation", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition, Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8