backstab

[ bak-stab ]

verb (used with object)

, back·stabbed, back·stab·bing.

1. to attempt to discredit (a person) by underhanded means, as innuendo, accusation, or the like.

Other Words From

• backstabber noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of backstab¹

First recorded in 1920–25; back ² + stab

Example Sentences

In the eight episodes, which exist as a standalone story separate from the film and are now streaming, Eddie and Susie first collaborate, then backstab each other and eventually realize they are better as a team.

From Los Angeles Times

"You don't know who to trust, and when you do trust someone they backstab you," he says.

From BBC

Trump exploded: "These people love me. These are my people. I can't backstab the people who support me."

From Salon

Trump exploded at Ryan: "These people love me. These are my people. I can't backstab the people who support me."

From Salon

In addition to “Peerless,” there are Sophie McIntosh’s “Macbitches,” about a group of college students who backstab one another in order to get the lead role in a school play, and “Mac Beth,” by Erica Schmidt, who condensed the text to 90 minutes and set her work in an all-girls high school.

From New York Times