backshift

B3A1C3K5S1H4I1F4T1
UK, US/ˈbækʃɪft/

noun

The changing of the tense of a verb from present to past in reported speech.

Scrabble 23
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Meanings

nounbackshift (countable and uncountable, plural backshifts)

plural backshifts

  1. countableuncountablegrammarThe changing of the tense of a verb from present to past in reported speech.
  2. countableuncountablemathematicsA function on a stochastic process whose value on any random variable is the preceding random variable in the process.
verbbackshift (third-person singular simple present backshifts, present participle backshifting, simple past and past participle backshifted)

present singular third person backshifts · participle present backshifting · participle past backshifted · past backshifted

  1. transitivegrammarTo change the tense of a verb from present to past in reported speech.

Origin

From back + shift.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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