Meanings
plural laybacks
- figure skatingA spin in which the head and shoulders are dropped backwards and the back arched downwards toward the ice; also called a layback spin.
Mirai Nagasu, like Zhang a promising 14-year-old, showed equally astonishing flexibility on a layback spin Wednesday, leaning so far that the back of her head nearly touched her backside.
2008 January 24, Pat Borzi, “Figure Skating's Next Ones Are Closing in on Their Moment”, in New York Times - climbingA maneuver to scale a vertical crack, by pulling with the arms and jamming the legs underneath, and shuffling up one limb at a time.
1 more example
A layback, on the other hand, forces you to pull with your arms. A layback can protrude so far from the main rock face, that your legs will be dangling uselessly in the air, while your arms support all of your body weight. The tricky thing about the layback is that not only do you need the upper-body strength to hold yourself up and climb hand over hand, but you also need the flexibility and balance to clear the edge of the overhang.
2006 July 2, Antonio Graceffo, “A Day of Rocks and Sea: Kayaking and Climbing in Taiwan”, in asiantribune.com - audioThe process of recording the final sound onto the master track.
- ball gamesA short backwards pass to a teammate in an attacking position.
Only a fine interception from Mickael Silvestre denied the marauding Czech international an early chance from Tomasz Radzinski's layback and, as United struggled to find any momentum, their hosts threatened to overwhelm them.
2000 October 25, Daniel Taylor, “Radzinski double floors United”, in the Guardian
present singular third person laybacks · participle present laybacking · participle past laybacked · past laybacked
- climbingTo climb using layback maneuvers.
Origin
From lay + back (presumably from confusion between lay and lie).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
layback. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/layback
“layback.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/layback. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “layback,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/layback.
Source: layback on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.