backcross

B3A1C3K5C3R1O1S1S1

verb

To cross a hybrid with one of its parents.

OriginEnglish cross ← Middle English bak ← Old English bæc →
UncommonScrabble 19
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Meanings

verbbackcross (third-person singular simple present backcrosses, present participle backcrossing, simple past and past participle backcrossed)

present singular third person backcrosses · participle present backcrossing · participle past backcrossed · past backcrossed

  1. biologyTo cross a hybrid with one of its parents.
nounbackcross (plural backcrosses)

plural backcrosses

  1. biologyThe act of crossing a hybrid with one of its parents.
  2. biologyAn organism produced by such a crossing.
  3. alternativeartsAlternative form of back cross.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰeg-der.?
  2. Proto-Germanic*baką
  3. Proto-West Germanic*bak
  4. Old Englishbæc
  5. Middle Englishbak
  6. Englishback
  7. Englishcross
  8. Englishbackcross

From back + cross.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

crossback
Cite this entry
APA

backcross. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/backcross

MLA

“backcross.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/backcross. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “backcross,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/backcross.

Source: backcross on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.