Meanings
adjectivebackless (not comparable)
- not comparableHaving no back, especially where one would be expected, as with a chair or a dress.
a backless surgical gown
1 more example
The apartment was almost dismantled; chairs lay backless about the floor amid china shepherdesses and toreadors; pictures were thrown over the sofa, […]
1885, George Moore, A Mummer's Wife - not comparableHaving the back uncovered, showing the skin.
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰeg-der.?
- Proto-Germanic*baką
- Proto-West Germanic*bak
- Old Englishbæc
- Middle Englishbak
- Englishback
- Proto-Indo-European*lewh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*lewHs-
- Proto-Germanic*leusaną
- Proto-Germanic*lausaz
- Englishbackless
Translations
Danish rygløs
- rygløshaving no back
German rückenfrei
- rückenfreihaving no back
Indonesian bekles
- bekleshaving no back
Norwegian Bokmål ryggløs, barrygget
- ryggløshaving no back
- barryggethaving a back that shows skin
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with backless
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
backless. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/backless
MLA
“backless.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/backless. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “backless,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/backless.
Source: backless on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.