backoff

B3A1C3K5O1F4F4

noun

The situation where an algorithm or process refrains from taking an action it would otherwise have taken.

“a backoff strategy to avoid collisions”

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Meanings

nounbackoff (countable and uncountable, plural backoffs)

plural backoffs

  1. countableuncountablecomputingThe situation where an algorithm or process refrains from taking an action it would otherwise have taken.

    a backoff strategy to avoid collisions

  2. countableuncountablehobbiesThe situation where an incoming wave passes from shallower water to a deeper area, making the wave less steep and potentially unsurfable.

    I fastened the board's leash to my ankle, jumped on and paddled past the backoff.

    2012, Kimberly Young Chopin, Metamorphosis: A Love Story, page 22
    1 more example

    The surfer is in the middle of a backoff. Paddle for unbroken waves butterfly-style, with both arms at the same time, instead of using the crawl stroke that got you out to where the waves are breaking.

    1997, James MacLaren, Learn to Surf, page 82

Origin

Deverbal from back off.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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